GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Mark Rothko was born in Dvinsk, Russia in 1903, but by 1913 his family had settled in Portland, Oregon. He entered Yale University in 1921 and studied liberal arts, but withdrew in 1923 because he was not sufficiently interested in academic training. By 1925, Rothko had settled in New York and begun to tentatively draw from the model. For a brief time he painted in Max Weber's class at the Art Students League, and he participated in his first group exhibition at the Opportunity Galleries, New York, in 1928. .
Early in his career, Rothko searched for numerous ways to convey strong human emotions, through his painting of expressionist figures, dream-like subway scenes, and mythic and Surrealist images. In 1935, along with Aldolph Gottlieb, William Baziotes, and others, Rothko co-founded of "the Ten," a group with expressionistic tendencies that held annual shows for almost a decade, principally at the Montross and Passedoit galleries. By 1950, he began to create his well-known large color-stained canvases, with their archetypal subdivided rectangular fields of contrasting colors that seem to float due to their blurred edges. Constructed by layers of thinly washed but intense color, the floating, diffuse oblongs gave the strong effect of vibrating light. The forms approach but never touch the edges of the canvas or each other, creating a tension which is felt by the viewer. Relying on this structure in which he could experiment with color sensations, Rothko had at last achieved "the simplest expression of the complex thought," generating for himself what he perceived to be an emotional and even religious experience.
Commenting on the large scale on which he and other abstract expressionists painted, Rothko wrote, "I realize that historically the function of painting large pictures is painting something very grandiose and pompous. The reason I paint them, however - I think it applies to other painters I know - is precisely because I want to be very intimate and human. To paint a small picture is to place yourself outside your experience, to look upon an experience as a steroptican view or with a reducing glass. However, you paint the larger picture, you are in it. It isn't something you command."
Rothko's later works are more somber in color. For example, the enormous wall paintings produced for the Rothko Chapel in Houston are almost monochromatic in their blacks, tarnished reds, and dark violets. These later works attest to Rothko's desire to express a vital presence, as well as his faith in the absolute communicative power of color. Rothko committed suicide on February 25, 1970 in his New York studio. A year later the Rothko Chapel in Houston was dedicated, and in 1978, the Guggenheim Museum organized a major retrospective.
Adapted from
DMA unpublished material, n.d.
NOTES
DMA unpublished material = typed biography, unauthored, document found in object file.
As was the case for such metaphysical painters as Piet Mondrian, Paul Klee, and Vasily Kandisnsky, color was a key to a spiritual realm for Mark Rothko. Kierkegaard, an Existentialist philosopher deeply admired by Rothko, once wrote, "The result of my life is simply nothing, a mood, a single color." For the artist driven to suicide in 1970, Rothko may have well seen his life in much the same way, particularly since he had come to feel that reaching a higher truth in painting depended solely on abstract form and the transcendental aspects of pure color.
add this?
In 1943, Rothko, with his friend the painter Adolph Gottlieb, wrote several philosophical statements in an open letter to the New York Times, that would continue to guide his painting for years to come. It reads, "To us art is an adventure into an unknown world, which can be explored only by those willing to take the risks. This world of the imagination is fancy-free and violently opposed to common sense. It is our function as artists to make the spectator see the world our way--not his way. We favor the simple expression of the complex thought. We are for the large shape because it has the impact of the unequivocal. We wish to reassert the picture plane. We are for flat forms because they destroy illusion and reveal truth. It is a widely accepted notion among painters that it does not matter what one paints as long as it well painted. This is the essence of academism. There is no such thing as good painting about nothing. We assert that the subject is crucial and only that subject matter is valid which is tragic and timeless. That is why we profess spiritual kinship with primitive and archaic art."
ASSOCIATED CONTENT CHUNKS (list applicable note links)
AUDIO ASSETS
13308503: UMO. Red: An Inside Look at the Art and Life of Mark Rothko; Maxwell Lincoln Anderson; Carol Mancusi-Ungaro; Joel Ferrell
193853247: UMO. Cohen-Solal, Annie, Mark Rothko, one of the most prominent artists of the 20th century, is known for his pioneering work and artistic innovation. From young Russian immigrant with harrowing memories of pogroms to world-famous artist, Rothko created work characterized by an emphasis on confronting the establishment. Join academic and cultural historian Annie Cohen-Solal as she discusses the enigmatic artist in her newest book, "Mark Rothko," featuring new biographical information based on recently revealed archival sources.
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- National Gallery of Art~Read extended content about the life and work of Mark Rothko.
- Khan Academy~Watch a short video about the painting techniques of Rothko.
- Rothko Chapel~Explore the spiritual space filled with Rothko works, located in Houston, Texas.
- Vimeo~Watch a short video inside the Rothko chapel, narrated by the artist's son.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES (digitized/non-digitized)
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
set operator as OR
apply to objects where constituent_id equals 1911
apply to constituents where id equals 1911
Category
rules_operator
OR
General Description
Mark Rothko was born in Dvinsk, Russia in 1903, but by 1913 his family had settled in Portland, Oregon. He entered Yale University in 1921 and studied liberal arts, but withdrew in 1923 because he was not sufficiently interested in academic training. By 1925, Rothko had settled in New York and begun to tentatively draw from the model. For a brief time he painted in Max Weber's class at the Art Students League, and he participated in his first group exhibition at the Opportunity Galleries, New York, in 1928. .
Early in his career, Rothko searched for numerous ways to convey strong human emotions, through his painting of expressionist figures, dream-like subway scenes, and mythic and Surrealist images. In 1935, along with Aldolph Gottlieb, William Baziotes, and others, Rothko co-founded of "the Ten," a group with expressionistic tendencies that held annual shows for almost a decade, principally at the Montross and Passedoit galleries. By 1950, he began to create his well-known large color-stained canvases, with their archetypal subdivided rectangular fields of contrasting colors that seem to float due to their blurred edges. Constructed by layers of thinly washed but intense color, the floating, diffuse oblongs gave the strong effect of vibrating light. The forms approach but never touch the edges of the canvas or each other, creating a tension which is felt by the viewer. Relying on this structure in which he could experiment with color sensations, Rothko had at last achieved "the simplest expression of the complex thought," generating for himself what he perceived to be an emotional and even religious experience.
Commenting on the large scale on which he and other abstract expressionists painted, Rothko wrote, "I realize that historically the function of painting large pictures is painting something very grandiose and pompous. The reason I paint them, however - I think it applies to other painters I know - is precisely because I want to be very intimate and human. To paint a small picture is to place yourself outside your experience, to look upon an experience as a steroptican view or with a reducing glass. However, you paint the larger picture, you are in it. It isn't something you command."
Rothko's later works are more somber in color. For example, the enormous wall paintings produced for the Rothko Chapel in Houston are almost monochromatic in their blacks, tarnished reds, and dark violets. These later works attest to Rothko's desire to express a vital presence, as well as his faith in the absolute communicative power of color. Rothko committed suicide on February 25, 1970 in his New York studio. A year later the Rothko Chapel in Houston was dedicated, and in 1978, the Guggenheim Museum organized a major retrospective.
Adapted from
DMA unpublished material, n.d.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
(digitized/non-digitized)
Web Resources
- National Gallery of Art~Read extended content about the life and work of Mark Rothko.
- Khan Academy~Watch a short video about the painting techniques of Rothko.
- Rothko Chapel~Explore the spiritual space filled with Rothko works, located in Houston, Texas.
- Vimeo~Watch a short video inside the Rothko chapel, narrated by the artist's son.
Notes
DMA unpublished material = typed biography, unauthored, document found in object file.
As was the case for such metaphysical painters as Piet Mondrian, Paul Klee, and Vasily Kandisnsky, color was a key to a spiritual realm for Mark Rothko. Kierkegaard, an Existentialist philosopher deeply admired by Rothko, once wrote, "The result of my life is simply nothing, a mood, a single color." For the artist driven to suicide in 1970, Rothko may have well seen his life in much the same way, particularly since he had come to feel that reaching a higher truth in painting depended solely on abstract form and the transcendental aspects of pure color.
add this?
In 1943, Rothko, with his friend the painter Adolph Gottlieb, wrote several philosophical statements in an open letter to the New York Times, that would continue to guide his painting for years to come. It reads, "To us art is an adventure into an unknown world, which can be explored only by those willing to take the risks. This world of the imagination is fancy-free and violently opposed to common sense. It is our function as artists to make the spectator see the world our way--not his way. We favor the simple expression of the complex thought. We are for the large shape because it has the impact of the unequivocal. We wish to reassert the picture plane. We are for flat forms because they destroy illusion and reveal truth. It is a widely accepted notion among painters that it does not matter what one paints as long as it well painted. This is the essence of academism. There is no such thing as good painting about nothing. We assert that the subject is crucial and only that subject matter is valid which is tragic and timeless. That is why we profess spiritual kinship with primitive and archaic art."
rules
Apply To
Constituents
id
Equals
1911
source file
artists_and_designers-0185.xml.nores