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This painting is a personal allegory of the 1912-1913 war that ultimately led to World War I. To symbolize war, Marc used a pack of wolves, which approach from the right. A fourth wolf either turns to fight them or to escape the flames that reflect red on its body. The wolf in the middle ground is either asleep or dead, and the one in the distance looks menacingly from beyond the edge of the painting to something viewers can only imagine. The landscape is in turmoil as well. Diagonal lines and harsh angles, along with a dark and dramatic color scheme, create a violent composition. Green flames burn in the foreground and purple clouds of smoke, perhaps from explosions, are seen in the distance. The only symbol of beauty and peace, the pink flowers in the lower right-hand corner, are dying.
Marc himself was called to World War I and sent to the front line. He was hurt by the great number of deaths he witnessed, including the many animals that were killed in the war. He wrote to his wife from the battlefield about a painting similar to The Wolves: "it is artistically logical to paint such pictures before a war—but not as stupid reminiscences afterwards, for we must paint constructive pictures denoting the future." Marc’s words express his hope for the future, and his artwork such as The Wolves functions as a warning about the horrors of war. In 1916, Marc died in the fighting at Verdun.