Elena Rossi
Mark Rothko was a twentieth-century American painter, best known for his abstract color field paintings, which feature large rectangular swaths of colour. Rothko's work predominantly revolved around shapes and colours, with his choices of colour being vital to each piece's integrity. His goal was to capture the essence of basic human emotions on the canvas and evoke those emotions from his viewers. He was also concerned with the viewer's experience, the merging of work and recipient beyond verbal comprehension. During the post-World War era, he began to feature images of survival and death, as well as concepts rooted in various religions and ancient mythical themes.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Style | Multiforms, colour field paintings, abstract expressionism |
| Subject matter | Initially urban and nature scenes, then later form, space and colour |
| Inspiration | Greek mythology, primitive art, Christian tragedy, Surrealists like Miró and André Masson |
| Purpose | To inspire greater feeling and spiritual enlightenment, to evoke emotional responses |
| Audience interpretation | Varied, some viewers find it enriching, others off-putting |
| Commercial value | High, some paintings sold for $188 million, $90.6 million, and $84 million |
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What You'll Learn
To evoke emotion
Mark Rothko's paintings are known to evoke strong emotional responses in viewers, achieved primarily through his use of colour. Rothko himself stated that he was “interested only in expressing basic human emotions – tragedy, ecstasy, doom, and so on".
Rothko's work is often classified as colour field painting, and he is associated with the American abstract expressionism movement of modern art. His paintings typically feature large rectangular blocks of colour, placed mostly horizontally on the canvas. These colour fields evoke emotions ranging from joy and ecstasy to grief and depression.
The artist's use of colour is said to create an "indefinitely open, expanding experience", where the boundaries between the viewer and the painting are blurred. This effect is heightened by the soft, blurred edges of the colour fields, which exude a life force and convey the emotions depicted.
Rothko's work transcends the need for figures or scenes of nature, instead striking at the heart of the viewer's emotional experience. The artist himself resisted attempts to interpret his paintings, focusing instead on the viewer's experience and the merging of work and recipient beyond verbal comprehension.
The emotional impact of Rothko's paintings is so powerful that some viewers have been brought to tears, with the artist comparing this response to a “religious experience". This emotional response is a key aspect of the artist's work and legacy, with his paintings serving as a means to evoke and explore intense feelings.
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To inspire spiritual enlightenment
Mark Rothko's paintings were driven by his desire to inspire viewers to achieve spiritual enlightenment and a greater feeling of emotion. Rothko's works were abstract and expressionist, transcending the need for figures or scenes of nature, and striking at the heart of the viewer.
Rothko's paintings were characterised by large, blurred fields of solid colour, devoid of any human figures, symbols, or landscapes. These colour field paintings, as they came to be known, were composed of several large rectangular blocks of colour, placed mostly horizontally on the canvas. Sometimes vivid, and sometimes subdued, these paintings conveyed human emotion in all its complexity, from joy and ecstasy to grief and depression.
The artist himself believed that his paintings were a means of expressing basic human emotions, and that viewers who wept before his paintings were having the same religious experience that he had when he painted them. Rothko's works were also influenced by his interest in Greek mythology, primitive art, and Christian tragedy.
Rothko's friend, the poet Stanley Kunitz, believed that great poetry and painting had roots in "magic, incantation, and spell-casting" and were, at their core, ethical and spiritual. Kunitz saw Rothko as "a primitive, a shaman who finds the magic formula and leads people to it".
Rothko's paintings were not intended to be interpreted. Instead, he wanted to inspire viewers to greater feeling and spiritual enlightenment without the guidance of labels. He once said, "No possible set of notes can explain our paintings. Their explanation must come out of a consummated experience between picture and onlooker. The appreciation of art is a true marriage of minds".
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To explore new subjects
Mark Rothko was an American painter of Russian descent, best known for his colour field paintings. He was born Marcus Rothkowitz in 1903 in Dvinsk, Russia (now Latvia), and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1913, settling in Portland, Oregon.
In the 1920s, Rothko moved to New York City and began his artistic career, initially focusing on urban scenes and everyday subjects. During the 1930s, he gained recognition for his realist paintings, such as the Scenes in the Subway series, which emphasised the isolation of commuters in a rhythmic and repetitive way.
However, Rothko's art entered a transitional phase during the 1940s, influenced by World War II and the influx of Surrealist artists emigrating to New York. He began to explore new subjects and techniques, seeking to break away from the conceptual dead end he perceived in modern American painting.
Rothko wanted to explore subjects beyond urban and nature scenes, focusing on form, space, and colour. He was influenced by Greek mythology, primitive art, Christian tragedy, and the work of Surrealists like Miró and André Masson. During this period, he experimented with automatic drawing, creating abstract forms that alluded to human and animal life.
By the late 1940s, Rothko had developed his signature style, characterised by colour field paintings or multiforms. These paintings consisted of large rectangular blocks of colour, devoid of figures, symbols, or landscapes. They evoked strong emotional responses in viewers, conveying human emotions from joy and ecstasy to grief and depression.
Rothko's exploration of new subjects and his unique style demonstrate his conviction and perseverance in the face of doubters. He sought to transcend the confines of current political symbols and values, creating art that had a social impact and offered a space for spiritual enlightenment and emotional exploration for viewers.
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To create a marriage of minds
Mark Rothko was an American painter of Russian descent, best known for his colour field paintings. His work is often described as abstract expressionism, and he is said to have been influenced by the likes of Max Weber, Marc Chagall, Max Ernst, Yves Tanguy, Robert Matta Echaurren, and André Masson.
Rothko's work is characterised by large, blurred fields of solid colour, devoid of any figures or symbols. He was interested in exploring form, space, and colour, and his work is said to evoke strong emotional responses in viewers. The artist himself is quoted as saying:
> I'm interested only in expressing basic human emotions — tragedy, ecstasy, doom, and so on — and the fact that lots of people break down and cry when confronted with my pictures shows that I communicate those basic human emotions. The people who weep before my pictures are having the same religious experience I had when I painted them.
Rothko's work has been interpreted in many ways, with some critics believing that his paintings were a reflection of his acquaintance with poet Stanley Kunitz, who believed that great poetry and painting had "roots in magic, incantation, and spell-casting" and were ethical and spiritual at their core.
However, Rothko himself resisted attempts to interpret his paintings, believing that the appreciation of art was "a true marriage of minds". He once said:
> No possible set of notes can explain our paintings. Their explanation must come out of a consummated experience between picture and onlooker. The appreciation of art is a true marriage of minds. And in art as in marriage, lack of consummation is grounds for annulment.
Rothko's work, then, can be seen as an invitation for viewers to bring their own interpretations and emotions to his paintings, creating a unique and deeply personal experience for each individual. This idea of art as a "marriage of minds" suggests that the purpose of Rothko's paintings was to create a space for viewers to project their own meanings and emotions, rather than imparting a specific message or narrative.
By inviting viewers to participate in this "marriage of minds", Rothko's paintings become a collaborative endeavour, where the artist's original intent takes a backseat to the individual's subjective experience. This approach not only empowers viewers to find personal meaning in his work but also ensures that his paintings remain open to a multitude of interpretations, resisting any single, definitive explanation.
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To portray death and survival
Mark Rothko's paintings have been interpreted in various ways, and the artist himself resisted attempts to interpret his paintings, focusing instead on the viewer's experience. However, one purpose of his paintings may have been to portray death and survival, especially in response to World War II.
Rothko's work entered a transitional phase during the 1940s, influenced by the war. During this period, his paintings began to feature images of survival and death due to the situations that prevailed during the war. Some of his paintings also included concepts rooted in various religions and ancient mythical themes.
In 1945, Rothko created what art critics have since termed his transitional "multiform" paintings, although he never used the term himself. These paintings, devoid of landscape, the human figure, or myth and symbol, possessed their own life force. They contained a "breath of life" that Rothko believed was lacking in the most figurative painting of the era.
In 1947, Rothko eliminated all elements of surrealism or mythic imagery from his works, and non-objective compositions of indeterminate shapes emerged. Within three years, he reached his signature format, painting two or three soft-edged, luminescent rectangles, stacked weightlessly on top of one another, floating horizontally against a ground. These colour field paintings, as they came to be known, conveyed human emotion in all its splendour, from joy and ecstasy to grief and depression.
Rothko's friend, the art critic Dore Ashton, pointed to the artist's acquaintance with poet Stanley Kunitz as a significant influence. Kunitz saw Rothko as "a primitive, a shaman who finds the magic formula and leads people to it". Kunitz believed that great poetry and painting had "roots in magic, incantation, and spell-casting" and were, at their core, ethical and spiritual. In a 1958 address to the Pratt Institute, Rothko himself discussed the importance of a clear preoccupation with death in art, stating that "tragic art, romantic art, etc., deals with the knowledge of death".
Rothko's paintings often evoke strong emotional responses in viewers, particularly due to their use of colour. The artist himself stated that he was interested only in expressing basic human emotions – tragedy, ecstasy, doom, and so on. He believed that his paintings communicated these basic human emotions and that viewers who wept before his pictures were having the same religious experience he had when he painted them.
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Frequently asked questions
Mark Rothko's paintings served multiple purposes. Firstly, they were a means for Rothko to express his emotions and inner thoughts, often dealing with intense and profound themes such as survival, death, and isolation. Secondly, Rothko aimed to evoke specific emotions and experiences in the viewer, using colours and shapes to elicit visceral reactions and create a sense of mystery and atmospheric depth. Additionally, Rothko's paintings were a form of rebellion against the constraints of political symbols and values, and he sought to transcend the limitations of the contemporary art world.
Rothko wanted viewers to have a visceral and immersive experience when viewing his paintings. He often worked on large canvases to dominate the viewer's field of vision and make them feel as if they were inside the painting. He also used colour combinations to create optical effects and evoke varied moods and emotions.
Rothko's paintings were influenced by various factors, including his interest in form, space, and colour. He was also inspired by the work of surrealists like Miró and André Masson, exploring automatic drawing and abstract forms. Additionally, Rothko's work was influenced by his Jewish heritage, social revolutionary thought, and the political and social climate of his time, including World War II.
Rothko generally avoided giving traditional titles to his paintings, and he resisted attempts to interpret them definitively. He believed that the meaning of his paintings was derived from the experience between the picture and the onlooker, valuing the subjective response over predetermined interpretations.
Rothko's paintings are often associated with Abstract Expressionism, and he is known for his ""colour field paintings". However, he did not subscribe to any particular school or movement, and his work is characterised by a unique style that combines large rectangles of colour with a focus on evoking emotions and creating immersive experiences.
