Mark Rothko
Born – Dvinsk, Russia 1903
Died – New York City, USA 1970
Mark Rothko went to the USA from Russia when he was ten years old. During the 1950s and 1960s he became one of the leading figures of Abstract Expressionism. Principally self-taught, he was initially inspired the Expressionism and Surrealism. His mature work dates from 1948. A characteristic Rothko painting features a series of mainly rectangular shapes built up from the successive applications of washes. The edges of the shapes are deliberately blurred, which gives the image a gentle, oscillatory quality. He utilized a restricted palette, focusing on colours close together in the range, such as brown and red, or grey and blue. Red on Maroon is one of the nine canvases that currently occupy a designated space within the Tate. Originally designed for the Seagram Building’s restaurant in New York, Rothko presented the series to the Tate shortly before his death. The simplified shapes, like dark clouds, are suspended in shallow space, providing the viewer with a focus for meditation as well as a screen on to which to project experience. The sombre colour was believed to be a reflection of his depressed state of mind. He committed suicide in 1970.
Masterpieces:
- Red, White and Brown
- Orange, Yellow Orange
Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.
Books About mark rothko
Mark Rothko
Mr. Jeffrey Weiss
Buy on Amazon
The Artist's Reality: Philosophies of Art
Mark Rothko
Buy on Amazon
Mark Rothko: The Works on Canvas
David Anfam
Buy on Amazon