Rothko Mark. Paintings in the style of abstract expressionism

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Abstract art, non-objective painting is not amenable to cold sober analysis. The work of such an artist as Mark Rothko, whose paintings do not contain even a hint of objects from the real world, is abstractionism in its purest form. Logic and the search for familiar analogies can interfere with the viewer's perception of Rothko's way of self-expression, in search of which the artist has come a long and difficult road.

Finding your way

Markus Yakovlevich Rotkovich was born in 1903 in the town of Dvinsk, Vitebsk province (now Latvian Daugavpils). After 10 years, his family emigrated to America, and he had to go through many life trials. He did not immediately find his way in life, accidentally falling into the artistic environment. In the 30-40s of the last century, it was the USA that became the center for the development of avant-garde art - abstractionists from the totalitarian states of Europe were forced out here.

In 1938 the artist took the name Rothko Mark. He created paintings of that period under the influence of the cubo-futurist Marc Weber (1881-1961) and the surrealist Arshile Gorky (1904-1948). It took Rothko a long time to find his way. He went through periods of passion and figurative painting: he painted portraits and cityscapes (“Woman behindsewing”, 1935, “In the subway”, 1938). Surrealistic motifs in his work were intensified by his passion for new philosophical ideas: interest in the unconscious, in the inner world of an individual, in the automatism of expressing emotions and impressions.

First the era of the Great Depression, then the premonition of a new world war created an atmosphere in society in which traditional landmarks were lost. The artist seeks support in mythological subjects ("Antigone", 1941, "Hierarchical Birds", 1945), and then comes to absolutely non-objective painting.

From the beginning of the 50s, such an artistic phenomenon as Rothko was finally formed. Mark, whose paintings consisted of two or three parallel rectangles, found his way. Color field painting is the definition critics have found for Rothko's method.

A simple shape for complex ideas

The artist himself did not like to explain his paintings and could not stand it when others did it. He did not try to reveal the idea in words, therefore, in the museum halls where Mark Rothko is represented, there are paintings with titles in the form of a serial number and date of creation.

He could not accept being called an abstractionist because he considered his paintings to be reflections of real life, living organisms seeking contact with the viewer.

He had a negative attitude to the opinion of himself as an artist - "colorist", although he always carefully worked with color, even manually rubbed pigments, achieving the desired color and consistency. He considered the ratio of masses and volumes to be more important.those blocks that made up his compositions.

The picture is like theater

In his youth, Rothko wanted to seriously engage in dramatic art and almost enrolled in acting classes. He often called his compositions dramas, and it is easy to imagine them as stage decorations. This can explain another aspect of the influence of Rothko's paintings on the audience.

Many people note an extraordinary involvement in the space of painting. For the exhibition of his works, the artist chose dim artificial light, almost twilight. And the distance from which he recommended looking at the picture, Rothko determined at 18 inches (45 cm). Considering the visual vibration of the border of colored blocks, the heterogeneity of the paint coating (sometimes multi-layered), one can explain the occurrence of movement deep into the space of the picture, giving rise to additional vivid emotions.

Rothko Chapel

How important the organization of the space of the picture and the ways of perceiving his painting were for the artist can be understood from the history of his work on the design of the chapel of the church at the Institute of Religion in Houston. Huge panels painted for the choir are located in a room designed according to the wishes of Rothko. Mark, whose paintings in this case are almost monochrome, participated in the design and lighting of the hall.

The church, of which the chapel has become a part, does not belong to a particular religion and is dedicated to God. A meditative, detached from the worldly atmosphere fills the octagonal hall with a light source located in the dome. Mark Rothko placed in this hallpaintings. The photo shows how powerful this exposure is.

Long road to recognition

The artist's personal circumstances were not easy. Long years of poverty, the disbelief of the closest people in his talent greatly influenced him, so the work of Mark Rothko can hardly be called optimistic. Even compositions of blocks of bright and warm colors evoke strong dramatic emotions. The expression of tragedy in the life of society and each individual is called the main theme of the artist.

Death as the last picture

In the late 60s, fame and money came, but diseases and family troubles piled on. On February 25, 1970, the artist committed suicide by opening his veins. Mark Rothko - paintings, photos with him filled all the newspapers and magazines - signed his last work …

It is said that he could not imagine how his paintings are bought just for interior decoration. After working for two years on an order for the most expensive restaurant in New York, Rothko returned the advance and turned down the job when he imagined rich people munching and glancing at his panels.

The world's best collections of contemporary art cannot be imagined without paintings by Mark Rothko. "Orange, Red, Yellow", "White Center" - incredible millions of dollars were paid for these paintings at auctions. These numbers especially excite the inhabitants, who see only unevenly painted spots, who do not bother to take a step towards new ideas and emotions. And how much is freedom, how much is heartachehuman and artist?