Rothko

Mark Rothko (1903-1970) was a great defender of the artist's total freedom of expression, shunning classifications and any attempt to interpret his paintings. Although he is considered a key figure of abstract expressionism, trained in New York City, Rothko rejected labels and insisted on creating “a complete experience between the painting and the viewer.”

After a figurative period, Rothko developed his iconic canvases of blocks of vibrant colors in red, yellow, ocher, brown, black, or green. He emphasized that he had not eliminated the human figure with these bright, vivid color spaces, but had replaced it with symbols or forms that contained all the tragedy of the human condition. At the same time, he explicitly attributed to the viewer the power to interpret his work. As he said: “A picture lives by companionship, expanding and quickening in the eyes of the sensitive observer.”

From his early beginnings to his most famous color fields, this book uncovers the intelligence and influence of Rothko's dramatic, intimate, and revolutionary work.