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Grossberg opted for an unconventional composition in his 1929 painting: the two classical buildings, presumably the focal point of the scene, are positioned at the edges of the picture and heavily cropped. This shifts the focus to the space between them, populated by various animals. An obelisk and a mast leading nowhere can also be seen. The animals depicted — birds, rodents, a monkey and a sloth — were taken from a book called 'Naturgeschichte der Säugetiere für Schule und Haus' (Natural History of Mammals for School and Home), which belonged to Grossberg's family. The buildings could, it is assumed, be two neoclassical institutions in Berlin, the Berlin Building Academy made of red brick on the left and the Academy of Arts on the right. However, there is no obelisk in Berlin.

The painting belongs to the 'Traumbilder' (Dream Pictures) series. Less eerie in its atmosphere, due in part to the colours used, it consists, like the other depictions in the series, of a collage-like composition of different elements. Whether the presence of animals in academic settings here can be interpreted as a critical commentary remains open.