#77 - Mark Rothko ~ Heads ~ 1942
#77 - Biographical Sketch of Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko was a painter who was a pioneer of Abstract Expressionism. He was born Marcus Rothkowitz in Dvinsk, Russia (now
Daugavpils, Latvia), on September 25, 1903, and immigrated to the United States with his family in his youth. In the mid-20th century, he
belonged to a circle of New York-based artists (also including Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock) who became known as the Abstract
Expressionists. His signature works, large-scale paintings of luminous colored rectangles, used simplified means to evoke emotional
responses.
His best-known works, a number of which are on very large canvases, involve the juxtaposition of large areas of melting colors. His
works introduced contemplative introspection into the melodramatic post-World War II Abstract Expressionist school; his use of color as the
sole means of expression led to the development of Color Field Painting.
In 1913 Rothko's family settled in Portland, Oregon, and during his youth he was preoccupied with politics and social issues. He
entered Yale University in 1921, intending to become a labor leader, but dropped out after two years and wandered about the U.S. In 1925 he
settled in New York City and took up painting. He was essentially a self-taught artist.
Rothko first worked in a realistic style that culminated in his Subway series of the late 1930s, showing the loneliness of persons in drab
urban environments. This gave way in the early 1940s to semi-abstract biomorphic forms, which are a painted, drawn, or sculptured free form
or design suggestive in shape of a living organism, especially an ameba or protozoan. By 1948, however, he had arrived at a highly personal
form of Abstract Expressionism.
Unlike many of his fellow Abstract Expressionists, Rothko never relied on such dramatic techniques as violent brushstrokes or the
dripping and splattering of paint. Instead, his virtually gestureless paintings achieved their effects by juxtaposing large areas of melting colors
that seemingly float parallel to the picture plane in an indeterminate, atmospheric space. Rothko spent the rest of his life refining this basic
style through continuous simplification. He restricted his designs to two or three “soft-edged” rectangles that nearly filled the wall-sized
vertical formats like monumental abstract icons.
In1966 Rothko finally finished a series of 14 immense canvases. These paintings were virtual monochromes of darkly glowing browns,
maroons, reds, and blacks. Their sombre intensity reveals the deep mysticism of Rothko's later years. Plagued by ill health and the conviction
that he had been forgotten by those artists who had learned most from his painting, he committed suicide.
After his death, the execution of Rothko's will provoked one of the most spectacular and complex court cases in the history of modern
art, lasting for 11 years (1972–82). The misanthropic Rothko had hoarded his works, numbering 798 paintings, as well as many sketches and
drawings. His daughter, Kate Rothko, accused the executors of the estate of conspiracy and conflict of interest in selling the works—in effect,
of enriching themselves. The courts decided against the executors, who were heavily fined. In 1979 a new board of the Mark Rothko
Foundation was established, and all the works in the estate were divided between the artist's two children and the Foundation.
#77 - Additional Works by Mark Rothko
#77 - Questions about Mark Rothko
1) What is the meaning of biomorphic forms?
a) free form or design suggestive in shape of a right angels
b) free form or design suggestive in shape of a living organism
c) free form or design suggestive in shape of a symbolism
d) free form or design suggestive in shape of extinct organisms
2) Why do you think Rothko used the technique of juxtaposing large areas of melting colors that seemingly float parallel to the picture
plane in an indeterminate, atmospheric space?
a) this is how his virtually gestureless sculptures achieved their effects
b) this is how his virtually monochrome frescoes achieved their effects
c) this is how his virtually three-dimensional paintings achieved their impasto effects
d) this is how his virtually gestureless paintings achieved their effects
3) Which statement best describes the series of 14 immense canvases Rothko finally finished in 1966 as these paintings were virtual
monochromes of darkly glowing browns, maroons, reds, and blacks?
a) their sombre intensity reveals the deep mysticism of Rothko's later years
b) their bright intensity reveals the deep joie de vivre of Rothko's later years
c) their sombre subtly reveals the shallow capitalism of Rothko's later years
d) their sombre intensity reveals the deep mysticism of Rothko's earlier years
4) Based on Rothko's use of color as the sole means of expression, which of these conclusions is accurate?
a) it led to the development of Impasto Painting
b) it led to the development of Color Field Painting
c) it led to the development of Sfumato Effect Painting
d) it led to the development of Plein Air Painting
5) Which of the following is a reason Rothko committed suicide?
a) plagued by the inability of being able to handle his fame
b) plagued by the conviction that this would bring him posthumous fame
c) plagued by ill health and the lack of medical research for a cure
d) plagued by ill health and the conviction that he had been forgotten