No. 18 - Mark Rothko

A classic example of Mark Rothko's 1950s colour field painting, featuring stacked rectangular forms in warm orange and pale pink tones.

Mark Rothko, born Marcus Rothkowitz in Dvinsk, Russia, moved to the United States in 1913. He became a central figure in the New York School of painters during the mid-twentieth century. This work, dating from 1951, belongs to his mature period, during which he refined his signature format: stacked, rectangular forms with soft, blurred edges that appear to hover within the pictorial space.

In this composition, Rothko employs a palette dominated by warm, earthy tones. A large, saturated orange-red block occupies the upper portion of the canvas, while a lighter, pale pinkish-white field dominates the lower section. Between these two primary zones, a thin, horizontal band of darker pigment acts as a visual anchor. The edges of these colour fields are not hard or defined; instead, they bleed into one another, creating a sense of atmospheric depth and movement. Rothko applied thin layers of oil paint, allowing the underlying colours to influence the final appearance of the surface. This technique provides a luminosity that changes depending on the light conditions of the room.

Rothko intended for his paintings to communicate basic human emotions, such as tragedy, ecstasy, and doom. He often requested that his works be hung low and in groups, encouraging viewers to stand close to the canvas. By removing representational imagery, he sought to create an environment where the viewer could engage directly with the physical presence of the colour. This approach avoids narrative or symbolic interpretation, focusing instead on the immediate sensory experience of the paint and the scale of the work. The simplicity of the arrangement belies the technical precision required to achieve such subtle transitions between tones.