Study Guide
Mark Rothko
Tate
Why They Matter
Mark Rothko (1903–1970) pursued a singular vision: painting as a vehicle for direct emotional experience. By the late 1940s he had shed figuration entirely, arriving at his signature format of stacked, soft-edged rectangles of luminous color hovering on a tinted ground.
These canvases are deceptively simple. Up close, their surfaces reveal dozens of translucent glazes — thin washes of pigment layered to produce an inner glow that no reproduction captures. Rothko intended them to be encountered at close range in dim lighting, surrounding the viewer in color the way architecture surrounds the body. His Houston Chapel (1971), with its near-black panels, represents the logical endpoint: painting reduced to pure contemplative presence. The emotional range from early radiant works (oranges, yellows) to late somber ones (maroons, blacks) charts one of art history's most profound internal journeys.
Representative Works
No. 61 (Rust and Blue) (1953)
A classic mid-career format: two luminous rectangles — warm rust above cool blue — float on a narrow ground. The edges breathe, creating an optical pulse between form and field.
Seagram Murals (1958–59)
Commissioned for the Four Seasons restaurant, Rothko produced a cycle of dark, horizontally-banded paintings. He ultimately withdrew, donating them to the Tate, declaring the space incompatible with contemplation.
Rothko Chapel Panels (1964–67)
Fourteen near-monochrome panels — dark plum, black, maroon — installed in a non-denominational chapel in Houston. They represent the furthest reach of his reductive ambition.
No images hosted — text descriptions only, in compliance with copyright.
How to Read with the Mend Index
Apply these B/P/M/S interpretation tips when evaluating works attributed to Mark Rothko:
Rothko's surfaces are extremely fragile — thin glazes over raw or lightly primed canvas. Cracking patterns and paint absorption into canvas weave are normal age indicators.
The Rothko estate and catalogue raisonné (published by Yale/NGA) are key references. Undocumented works appearing after 1985 carry high risk.
Oil and sometimes acrylic on canvas, occasionally paper. He used egg-oil emulsions and dammar varnish in complex layering. Infrared examination often reveals underlayers.
Pre-1949 figurative/surrealist works look completely different from mature abstractions. Transitional 'multiform' pieces (1947–49) bridge the gap.
Official collection — images not hosted here due to copyright
Tate: Mark Rothko