  Mark Rothko Paintings |
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Mark Rothko Paintings
Mark Rothko, a world famous abstract expressionist painter and printer maker, was born September 25, 1903, and died February 25, 1970. While rejecting the label that society and his peer placed upon, he was still able to find some semblence of success. Born in the then Russian Empire, in an area now known as Latvia, his family would come the Untied States from fear of a draft being instituted by then Czarist Russia.
Rothko's life as an artist began in 1923 when he found employment in the garment district and took up residence on the Upper West Side. It was while visiting a friend at the Art Students League of New York that he witnessed students sketching models. He was only 20 years old at the time and had taken some art classes in high school, with his initial experience far from an immediate calling. Rothko enrolled in the New School of Design, where he was taught by artists such as Arshile Gorky and Max Weber. That fall he took courses at the Art Students league of New York taught by still life artist Max Weber. Due to Weber, Rothko began to start seeing art as a tool of emotion and religious expression. During this time, Mark Rothko's paintings were dark, moody, expressionist interiors, as well as urban scenes, but they were generally accepted among critics and peers. Rothko struggled sticking to his new career during the great depression. In 1929 Rothko began teaching children at the Center Academy of the Brooklyn Jewish center, which was a position that he held for more than 20 years. In the 1930's, Mark Rothko paintings were mostly street scenes and interiors with figures. Rothko rejected all modes of representation as he stressed an emotional approach to the subject, which was an approach that he admired most in childrens art.
In 1933 Rothko was given his first one person exhibition at the Museum of Art in Portland, Oregon, and also a few months later at the Contemporary Arts Gallery in New York. His exhibitions included landscapes, nudes, portraits, and city scenes. By the end of 1934 Rothko participated in an exhibition at the Gallery Secession. Members of the Gallery Secession included Louid Harris, Adolph Gottlieb, Llya Bolotowsky, and Joseph Solman. A few months later all of these artists formed their own group called the Ten, which exhibited together eight times between 1935 and 1939. Mark Rothko's paintings throughout the Ten's exhibits were expressionist style.
Rothko began to create a number of haunting images of the New York subway. These images had window portals, and walls that serve as structural and expressive devices of confinement. He showed the subway as a place containing a dramatic contrast of themes such as walls and railings that are represented as flat screens, while tracks recede sharply. Rothko's characters are remote ciphers that process a haunted air, as if existing solely to inhabit the border that separates real a fictional space. Rothko's street scenes and subway pictures have been compared to examples of Ashcan school and Depression era realist painting.
In 1940's Rothko's imagery became increasingly symbolic. Rothko felt that new subjects has to be found. In 1947 Rothko began to largely abandon conventional titles resorting to numbers or colors in order to distinguish one work from another. Mark Rothco's paintings began to take on rectangular shapes of odd colors and schemes. Add Your Comments about Mark Rothko Paintings: Name: Stephen Hardman Date: Wednesday, Aug 04 2010 I have recently started art classes - conventional landscapes in oil, emulating established artists and learning their techniques. I agree with many of the comments made about Mark Rothko's works...whilst they may not be terribly difficult, they are by no means easy. They are huge; covering an entire wall. The colours are strong and full of energy. It's easy to look at a finished piece of work and accept what you are looking at but combining / contrasting to generate the finished effect is by no means easy. They have great depth and have the power to move those that appreciate them. Name: Steve B. Date: Saturday, Jul 17 2010 Not to be a kill joy, but these works of 'art' are prime examples of how happily slapping a few ill matched colours on a piece of canvas and giving it a 'deep' ti Name: ts monk Date: Tuesday, Jun 15 2010 I'm a bit confused, somehow someone attributed comments to me that were not made by me ( Tuesday, march 16th ). Name: tammy rutherford Date: Monday, Jun 14 2010 I really enjoyed the imagary symbolic works of Rothko, it showed that in his generation he wasn't afraid to explore something new and different. No matter what critics were saying at that time, it takes guts and raw grit to explore anything new, but we do it for the self gratification and self experimentation to see where an art piece may take us. Name: tammy rutherford Date: Thursday, May 06 2010 I cant understand how this so called "art" can be valued so much... Even a 5 year old child can paint that kind of "paintings" Name: Trudie Moore Date: Sunday, Apr 25 2010 I saw a documentary about him. I admired is principles and his dedication to his craft even if I don't fully understand his later works. To be fair,I also think that viewing them on t.v. or computer screen doesn't show the subtle blending of colours as described by the commentator, or have the same impact as actually standing in front of what are massive works. He was quite a tortured soul and alcoholic, and I hope he has now found peace at least. Name: TS Monk Date: Wednesday, Apr 21 2010 His works really appeal to me. They convey a sense of complete stillness and contemplation.They draw me in and ask me to stop, look and listen. Name: TS Monk Date: Thursday, Apr 08 2010 appreciation is all thats needed here. Name: TS Monk Date: Tuesday, Mar 16 2010 I'm not sure his later work should be considered art. They are aesthetically pleasing blocks of color, but so is my wall paper. I could imagine it adding color and life to a room, but so does wall paper. Usually, I say that a computer could not produce art, but if art is defined by this man's later work, then I could write a program in an afternoon that produce "art." Name: fytfiytd Date: Wednesday, Mar 10 2010 his paintings are also easy but very cool Name: rayne Date: Monday, Mar 08 2010 wow hes so amazing and his paintings are the best ive seen in awhile...... hes so creative... IM A WANNABE!!!!! Name: rayne Date: Friday, Mar 05 2010 Well, um.....his paintings are nice and you provided lots of information too. Must have put in a lot of effort!!!! > < Name: april Date: Saturday, Feb 20 2010 i think that the website is cool! Name: keef Date: Monday, Feb 15 2010 The expression is "ARS LONGA VITA BREVIS". Name: Cr Sanook Date: Saturday, Nov 07 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ8AIIAgYpg Name: Cr Sanook Date: Monday, Sep 28 2009 amazing creative AND IMAGINITIVE! good use of colour |
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Rothko's art evokes honesty,the way stillness evokes movement.