mark rothko abstract expressionism color shape balance depth composition scale

Mark RothkoAbstract Expressionism

Color

Shape

Balance

Depth

Composition

Scale

1920’s & 1930’s

Expressionist

rothko

Untitled c.1926/1935

•Cézanne like images•Interiors w/figures•Crude application of paint


Rothko

Self-Portrait 1936

•Deliberate deformations•Crude application of paint•emotional


Self-Portrait 1936

Street Scene c.1937

•Street scenes•Children’s art•Emotional•Deliberate deformations•Flat•Crude application of paint


Street Scene c.1937

1940’s

Style: Biomorphic (Myths & Symbols)

rothko

The Omen of the Eagle 1942

•Symbolic•The Spirit of Myth•Classical literature


The Omen of the Eagle 1942

Gethsemane 1944

•Symbolic•Old and New Testament•Horizontal bands


Gethsemane 1944

Untitled 1948

•Organic Shapes•Large Canvas•Color


Untitled 1948

No. 9 1948

•Horizontal bands•Organic shapes•Watercolor•Large Canvas


No. 9 1948

No. 8 1949

•Horizontal Bands•Thin, Overlapping Glazes•Large Canvas


No. 8 1949

1950’s & 1960’s

Style: Color Field Abstraction

rothko

White Center 1950

Nonobjective compositions

Asymmetrical

Emotional

Floating Rectangles

“Eye-catching” colors

Verticality relates figuratively and spiritually

Blurred edges make the color appear to vibrate

These works were mean to be meditated upon


White Center 1950

Untitled (Blue, Green, and Brown) 1952

Meditative

Emotional

Floating Rectangles

“I paint pictures because I want to create a state of total intimacy. A large painting is an immediate transaction, it takes you into it.

Rothko was one of the Leading figures in the Abstract Expressionist Movement


(Blue, Green, and Brown) 1952

He used rags more than he used brushes. The purpose for this was to stain the canvas and create areas of color that float on the canvas. He wanted no clearly defined space.

“ I am not interested in relationships of color or form or anything else…. I am interested only in expressing the basic human emotions- tragedy, ecstasy, doom and so on.. And the fact that a lot of people breakdown and cry when confronted with my pictures show that I communicate with those basic human emotions. The people who weep before my pictures are having the same religious experiences I had when I painted them. And if you , as you say, are moved only by their color relationships, the you missed the point.”

- Mark Rothko

1969


Untitled 1968

Rothko used Magna Colors rather than oilor acrylic.

Magna colors are more similar to acrylicthan they are to oil, but they do not dry quite as quickly as acrylic paints dry. When mixed with turpentine, magna colors produce a translucent and luminous quality. Often times, magna colors are added to oil paint to help speed the drying time of the paint.


Untitled 1968

Mark Rothko in his studio c.1964

Mark Rothko, as a result of being physically ill and suffering from depression,committed suicide on February 25, 1970. At the time of his death, he was widely

recognized in Europe and America for his crucial role in the development of

nonrepresentational art.

mark rothko abstract expressionism color shape balance depth composition scale

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