Famous Paintings by Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko is one of the most influential figures in American abstract expressionism. He was born in what is now modern-day Latvia, and immigrated with his family to the United States in 1913. His abstract works featured blocks of color in a wide array of sizes, depths, and intensities. Rothko’s paintings are unmistakable and have become symbols of modern art and abstract expressionism. He famously said “I am not an abstractionist. I am not interested in the relationship of color or form or anything else…I am interested only in expressing basic human emotions — tragedy, ecstasy, doom, and so on.” Here’s a look at some of his most famous paintings.
Early Works
Before Rothko gained fame for his abstractions, he was already a master of figurative and surrealist art. His early works included figures and landscapes, demonstrating his talent as a draftsman and painter. His early works were a meditation on the loss of his Jewish heritage and the struggles of assimilation. These works are generally less recognized than his abstract though they are not without their own insight.
Yellow and Blue
Rothko’s works experienced a period of transition in the late 1930s. These works featured blocks of color that varied in sizes, shapes, and depths. While these works still feature definitive geometric forms, they were the precursor to his more abstract and emotionally charged moments in art. One of his most iconic works during this time is Yellow and Blue (1949), which contains two horizontally oriented rectangular blocks of saturated yellow and blue color.
The Seagram Murals
In the late 1950s, Rothko was commissioned to paint a series of murals for the Four Seasons restaurant inside the prestigious Seagram Building. The works he created had a major impact on the development of his abstract painting. Rothko’s Seagram paintings are composed of large rectangular floating fields that create tension through their balance and scale. Eight of the original Seagram works were kept by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and other examples are on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Modern in London, the Harvard University Art Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.
Central Domain Paintings
Culminating in 1969 and 1970, Rothko painted the central domain series. These works are considered to be among the most emotive images he produced in his entire career. The works often feature several layers of closely clustered fields of intense colors and tones, which are often encased by segments of single colors. In the central domains, Rothko is taking full advantage of the wide array of colors and textures available to him to bring his emotional power to the surface.
Untitled (White Over Red )
Untitled (White Over Red) is a painting that Rothko made in 1969, which is considered to be one of his most masterful works of art. Like the other central domain works, this painting features colliding colors that pulsate and pop off the canvas. The stark contrast between the overwhelmingly red field and the white subtle shapes creates a strong visual effect that is a blend of emotional power and minimalism.
No. 21 (Red, Brown, and Black )
Created in 1950, this painting features three sections of colored rectangles that appear to vibrate off the canvas. It is one of Rothko’s most recognizable paintings and is a prime example of the emotional energy and energy of his abstract expressionism in its full power. It is unclear whether the colors represent a hidden meaning, or if it is simply a visual expression of feeling given form. Regardless, its intensity is undeniable.
Untitled (Black on Gray )
Untitled (Black on Gray), produced in 1973, is positioned somewhere between minimalism and abstraction. It consists simply of a dense black square set against a larger rectangular structure of an almost autumn-like orange color. The black form draws the eye and draws out the tension between it and the surrounding orange. This painting presents a powerful image of the battle between light and dark, or Heaven and Hell, and appears to encapsulate Rothko’s view on life.
Mark Rothko was a pioneer in abstract expressionism and left behind a vast body of work that continues to influence and inspire to this day. He drew on his emotional landscape as a means of self-expression, creating layers of color that bring emotional charge to his content. The works that achieved his greatest emotional impact are often considered to be some of the finest examples of abstract expressionism that has ever been produced.
