Execute Magazine

Artist a Day:   Mark Rothko

Artist a day! MARK ROTHKO (1903-1970)  Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz, known as Mark Rothko, was an American abstract painter of Latvian Jewish descent.

Oil on canvas, 191.4 x 215.2 cm, 1944

 Slow Swirl at the Edge of the Sea

Rothko's Works

He is known for his color in the painting represented by irregular and painterly rectangular areas of color, which he created from 1949 to 1970.

Oil on canvas, 173 x 107 cm, 1947

Yellow, Cherry, Orange

Rothko's Works

His abstract paintings are commonly called  "color field paintings."

Oil on canvas, 297 x 272 cm, 1950

No.5/No.22

Rothko's Works

Rothko's objective was to catch the spirit of basic human emotions on the canvas and then stimulate those emotions from his viewers.

Oil on canvas, 1950

White Center (Yellow, Pink, and Lavender on Rose)

Rothko's Works

Rothko evolved into one of the most prominent American artists.

Oil on canvas, 1953

Untitled

Rothko's Works

Rothko shifted away from figurative art in the middle of his career and gave his art the meaning of color, light, and form. The color field paintings have obtained him worldwide recognition.

Oil on canvas, 115 x 92 cm, 1953

 No. 61 (Rust and Blue)

Rothko's Works

Rothko used the full spectrum of color in paintings and mixed his paints himself. He glazed a thin layer of binder into which Rothko had added color stains on the untreated, unprimed canvas. Then he fixed this ground with oils, which allowed him to spread around the unframed edges of the canvas.

Mixed Technique on canvas, 1951

No. 2 (No. 7 and No. 2)

Rothko's Works

"Painting is my natural language. I feel in my own universe when I’m painting."

Famous Quote by  Mark Rothko

Oil on canvas, 172.7 x 137.8 cm, 1953

No. 3

Rothko's Works

“A painting is not a picture of an experience, but is the experience.” 

Famous Quote by  Mark Rothko

Oil on canvas, 231.1 x 180.3 cm, 1956

Orange and Yellow

Rothko's Works

“I would like to say to those who think of my pictures as serene, whether in friendship or mere observation, that I have imprisoned the most utter violence in every inch of their surface.” 

Famous Quote by  Mark Rothko

Mixed technique on canvas, 1959

Black on Maroon

Rothko's Works

Buy Our Art Book "See You There"

Arrow