Art

Rothko

Rothko

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  • Create Date：2022-01-27 09:51:02
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Jacob Baal-Teshuva
  • ISBN：383650426X
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Summary

Pictures as Drama: Tragedy， ecstasy， and doom

Resisting interpretation or classification， Mark Rothko （1903-1970） was a prominent advocate for the artist's consummate freedom of expression。 Although identified as a key protagonist of the Abstract Expressionist movement， first formed in New York City， Rothko rejected the label and insisted instead on "a consummated experience between picture and onlooker。"

Following a repertoire of figurative works， Rothko developed his now iconic canvases of bold color blocks in red， yellow， ochre， maroon， black， green。 With these shimmering， pulsating color masses， Rothko stressed that he had not removed the human figure but rather put symbols or shapes in its place。 These intense color forms contained all the tragedy of the human condition。 At the same time， Rothko explicitly empowered the viewer in the expressive potential of his work。 He believed "A picture lives by companionship， expanding and quickening in the eyes of the sensitive observer。"

From his early development through to his most famous color fields， this book introduces the intellect and influence of Rothko's dramatic， intimate， and revolutionary work。

About the Series: Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features:
a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist， covering his or her cultural and historical importance
a concise biography
approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

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Reviews

Nrupa （Books and Bookshelf） ，

3。5/5

Tom Cartledge ，

Bold - brilliant - atmospheric！

Samuel Oktavianus ，

A quick Mark Rothko Autobiography。 My life would've been easier if I could sell a painting of a rectangle for tens of thousands of dollars。 🤣 A quick Mark Rothko Autobiography。 My life would've been easier if I could sell a painting of a rectangle for tens of thousands of dollars。 🤣 。。。more

Luís ，

Mark Rothko， original name Marcus Rothkovitch， （born Sept。 25， 1903， Dvinsk， Russia—died Feb。 25， 1970， New York City， N。Y。， U。S。）， American painter whose works introduced contemplative introspection into the melodramatic post-World War II Abstract Expressionist school; his use of colour as the sole means of expression led to the development of Colour Field Painting。In 1913 Rothko’s family emigrated from Russia to the U。S。， where they settled in Portland， Ore。 During his youth he was preoccupied Mark Rothko， original name Marcus Rothkovitch， （born Sept。 25， 1903， Dvinsk， Russia—died Feb。 25， 1970， New York City， N。Y。， U。S。）， American painter whose works introduced contemplative introspection into the melodramatic post-World War II Abstract Expressionist school; his use of colour as the sole means of expression led to the development of Colour Field Painting。In 1913 Rothko’s family emigrated from Russia to the U。S。， where they settled in Portland， Ore。 During his youth he was preoccupied with politics and social issues。 He entered Yale University in 1921， intending to become a labour 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。 Although he studied briefly under the painter Max Weber， he was essentially self-taught。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 the semi-abstract biomorphic forms of the ritualistic Baptismal Scene （1945）。 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 colours 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。 Despite their large size， however， his paintings derived a remarkable sense of intimacy from the play of nuances within local colour。From 1958 to 1966 Rothko worked intermittently on a series of 14 immense canvases （the largest was about 11 × 15 feet [3 × 5 metres]） eventually placed in a nondenominational chapel in Houston， Texas， called， after his death， the Rothko Chapel。 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 （Bernard J。 Reis， Theodoros Stamos， and Morton Levine） and Frank Lloyd， owner of Marlborough Galleries in New York City， of conspiracy and conflict of interest in selling the works—in effect， of enriching themselves。 The courts decided against the executors and Lloyd， who were heavily fined。 Lloyd was tried separately and convicted on criminal charges of tampering with evidence。 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。 In 1984 the Foundation’s share of works was distributed to 19 museums in the United States， Great Britain， the Netherlands， Denmark， and Israel; the best and the largest proportion went to the National Gallery of Art， Washington， D。C。Source: https://www。britannica。com/biography/。。。 。。。more

Steinn Steingrimsson ，

Great read on an great artist。 I enjoyed this short summary of Rothko's life and the illustrations are excellent。 A boost to the reading was listening to the album Rothko Chapel of Kim Kashkasian et al which contains Morton Feldmans musical composition inspired by the Rothko Chapel in Houston。 Great read on an great artist。 I enjoyed this short summary of Rothko's life and the illustrations are excellent。 A boost to the reading was listening to the album Rothko Chapel of Kim Kashkasian et al which contains Morton Feldmans musical composition inspired by the Rothko Chapel in Houston。 。。。more

Dirk ，

Bijzonder interessant en toegankelijk inkijkje in het leven van Mark Rothko。 In het MoMA behoorlijk starstruck geweest van zijn werken。 Ondanks de fascinatie voor zijn bekendste werken， heb ik me nooit verdiept in de mens Rothko。 Met dit boek is er een wereld voor me open gegaan。 Het gaat voorbij de werken en geeft echt duiding van zijn gehele levenspad。

Lulufrances ，

Comprehensive and with enough details to give me an overview of Mark Rothko and his work; which I love。 （Let's see how writing an essay on him will affect that。。。lol） Comprehensive and with enough details to give me an overview of Mark Rothko and his work; which I love。 （Let's see how writing an essay on him will affect that。。。lol） 。。。more

Adolfo ，

bueno pero con la falla que separar al artista y su arte del contexto político， social y económico。

Wilde Sky ，

The life and work of artist are presented。I found the details of the artist's life / work fascinating， in particular I appreciated the fact that his early disappoints were glossed over。 Many of the reproductions of his art were striking。Reading time roughly one hour。 The life and work of artist are presented。I found the details of the artist's life / work fascinating， in particular I appreciated the fact that his early disappoints were glossed over。 Many of the reproductions of his art were striking。Reading time roughly one hour。 。。。more

Guy ，

***1/2

Brent Bakken ，

Excellent quick study on Marcus Rothkowitz。 A good selection of his works represented plus a brief overview of his life and influencers。 Learned a lot without having to go into a large volume on the artist。 If I want more， I can choose to find a more detailed volume。 Highly recommend for artists and non-artists。

CM ，

Given it's my first book of this series by the artbook publisher Taschen， I am a bit surprised by its brevity and its focus on biographical details。 Plenty of large， or page-size panels are reproduced here to present readers an introduction to Rothko's painting but sometimes their arrangement and orders are not fitting as closely to the text as one might expect。 The text is an accessible biography with little effort interpreting his paintings。 It can be read by any one interested in this painter Given it's my first book of this series by the artbook publisher Taschen， I am a bit surprised by its brevity and its focus on biographical details。 Plenty of large， or page-size panels are reproduced here to present readers an introduction to Rothko's painting but sometimes their arrangement and orders are not fitting as closely to the text as one might expect。 The text is an accessible biography with little effort interpreting his paintings。 It can be read by any one interested in this painter without previous knowledge but I must say I am a bit disappointed that Rothko's shift in his painterly direction is not given more discussion。 。。。more

Marie ，

A book is not read or considered solely within the confines of its own covers， in isolation from other books or from life in general。 This is perhaps a commonplace， but it bears repeating nevertheless。 In my case I read “Rothko” right after Thomas Merton’s autobiographical account of his becoming a Trappist monk， and not long after Atul Gawande’s “Being Mortal” and Carol Collier’s “Recovering the Body。” I have， in other words， been on a bimonth-long literary odyssey of death， life， body， soul， s A book is not read or considered solely within the confines of its own covers， in isolation from other books or from life in general。 This is perhaps a commonplace， but it bears repeating nevertheless。 In my case I read “Rothko” right after Thomas Merton’s autobiographical account of his becoming a Trappist monk， and not long after Atul Gawande’s “Being Mortal” and Carol Collier’s “Recovering the Body。” I have， in other words， been on a bimonth-long literary odyssey of death， life， body， soul， suffering， holiness， meaning and experience。 So it does not feel purely serendipitous that it is just now that I finally take this closer look at Rothko’s work。 On the contrary， it strikes me as fated that I would stumble over this Taschen book just now – in the bitter depths of a Canadian winter and after the other books mentioned。 The timing has in a sense primed me to read this book as a sort of prayer or meditation。 In spite of its relative brevity （it sits at just over 90 pages， many of which consist of full-page reproductions of the artist’s paintings）， it took me longer to finish than many a book of three or four times its length。 I lingered over the illustrations， and found on not a few occasions that I was actually losing （finding？） myself in meditation before them; I mused over the artist’s wonderfully enigmatic and contrary statements about his own work， and over the incisive evaluations and descriptions of his colleagues and critics。 Everything about Rothko’s work makes it such that it must be approached slowly， at the right time and in the right frame of mind。 It isn’t fast-food art that can be gulped down on the way to something else。 It has a presence that demands your full presence， too。As many may know， I cannot generally be taken for an enthusiast of 20th-century –isms in art。 I see the emperor’s new clothes in far too much of it。 Not so with Rothko’s paintings。 They are a contemplative’s best friend and have a surprising amount in common with the work of another favourite painter of mine， namely Il Beato Angelico。 As it turns out， Rothko himself fell head over heals with Fra Angelico’s frescos on his first visit to San Marco in Florence， so one wonders whether this affinity becomes conscious and augmented following the visit to San Marco。 At any rate， I confess to feeling rather proud of myself for sensing the semblance between the paintings of these two visual prophets， as uncanny as it is inexplicable， before knowing that Rothko had felt drawn to Fra Angelico's work。 The reading of this book has prompted two wish-list items， the first being to visit the Rothko Chapel and other places where his late canvases hang。 Sadly， not a single Rothko is to be found at our own National Gallery here in Ottawa， so an in-person encounter will require heading further afield。 Obviously I have seen Rothkos before – in New York， in London – but this is where the importance of “the right time” comes in。 You cannot force the appreciation or enjoyment of a work of art。 Readying oneself for a work can take almost a lifetime… The second wish-list item is a reproduction or two for a little piece of bruised heaven at home。If I must present a small quibble it would be that the illustrations are not all presented strictly chronologically。 Given Rothko’s distinct phases and the chronological nature of the text it is in some instances jarring to see， for example， one of the late， dark pictures near the beginning of the book next to a pastel sketch from an earlier period。 But that is a very minor complaint。 Overall， this is a lovely little book， one that will no doubt find itself taken from the shelf to be perused on many an evening to come。 。。。more

Tom Romig ，

This is a solid， basic introduction， nicely covering pretty much all I need to know about Rothko's life。 My main interest is in the works themselves， in the emotional charge that interacting with them strikes。 I've greatly enjoyed the many fine reproductions of Rothko's paintings presented here and expect to return to them often。 I'm fortunate to live in DC， where several museums have examples of his art， particularly the Phillips Collection with its electrifying Rothko Room。Rothko comes across This is a solid， basic introduction， nicely covering pretty much all I need to know about Rothko's life。 My main interest is in the works themselves， in the emotional charge that interacting with them strikes。 I've greatly enjoyed the many fine reproductions of Rothko's paintings presented here and expect to return to them often。 I'm fortunate to live in DC， where several museums have examples of his art， particularly the Phillips Collection with its electrifying Rothko Room。Rothko comes across as a driven and demanding man， capable only of intermittent happiness。 Though mentioned only briefly here， his daughter Kate seems like a remarkable woman。 After her father's suicide when she was just 19， she intervened on behalf of her brother Christopher， who had been adopted into a harsh family。 Then she initiated what was to be a long but successful legal action against the disreputable people who were plundering her father's estate。 Read more about her here: https://www。theguardian。com/artanddes。。。 。。。more

Patience ，

Wonderful paintings， boring text。 Since I bought the book for the pictures of Rothko's work， I'm still happy with the book。 If I had really been wanting a deeper understanding of the artist and his work， however， I'm pretty sure a good 3 page magazine article would have been better。 Wonderful paintings， boring text。 Since I bought the book for the pictures of Rothko's work， I'm still happy with the book。 If I had really been wanting a deeper understanding of the artist and his work， however， I'm pretty sure a good 3 page magazine article would have been better。 。。。more

Lydia Klima ，

Loved it。 Love him。

Jane ，

A good， brief introductory level text into the life and works of Mark Rothko。 An excellent first book to read on the subject。 Would probably add little to a more knowledgeable reader。 For me it was a good balance between text and reproductions of Mark Rothko's pictures。 I come away knowing and appreciating more than when I started。 A good， brief introductory level text into the life and works of Mark Rothko。 An excellent first book to read on the subject。 Would probably add little to a more knowledgeable reader。 For me it was a good balance between text and reproductions of Mark Rothko's pictures。 I come away knowing and appreciating more than when I started。 。。。more

Kristine Morris ，

All I'll say is that you've got to see Rothko's paintings in person。 All I'll say is that you've got to see Rothko's paintings in person。 。。。more

Lauren Albert ，

I don't feel I learned much from the text。 But the reproductions are worth the price of the book--it is rich with reproductions。 I don't feel I learned much from the text。 But the reproductions are worth the price of the book--it is rich with reproductions。 。。。more

Kathleen ，

this book is a very， very brief introduction to rothko's life and work。 the author spent a lot of time （relatively） talking about rothko's interest in nietzsche's 'the birth of tragedy。' a decent book--although i think if i were to purchase a book about rothko i would skip this little one and get the one with the intro by his son instead。 this book is a very， very brief introduction to rothko's life and work。 the author spent a lot of time （relatively） talking about rothko's interest in nietzsche's 'the birth of tragedy。' a decent book--although i think if i were to purchase a book about rothko i would skip this little one and get the one with the intro by his son instead。 。。。more

Chris Gager ，

MR is one of my all-time top 10 painters。 This book is not a coffee table book but a good mix of bio and pictures。

Ruby ，

I really really like Rothko。 The text itself is so-so， it seems to be rather random in its decisions of what to include and what to gloss over。 A very basic introduction。

Angie ，

Made the life of an amazing artist boring。 Good job。 This book is just for the pictures。

Katherine ，

This book did what it set out to do -- provided a perfectly adequate biography of Mark Rothko that was accessible to someone who didn't know much about art。The text was very straightforward and provided enough information without going over my head。 I imagine an art student would find it very dull， and the book did little to explain Rothko's work itself， trying instead to tell the story of the man; however， that was fine with me as too much in-depth explanation of the work would have gone over m This book did what it set out to do -- provided a perfectly adequate biography of Mark Rothko that was accessible to someone who didn't know much about art。The text was very straightforward and provided enough information without going over my head。 I imagine an art student would find it very dull， and the book did little to explain Rothko's work itself， trying instead to tell the story of the man; however， that was fine with me as too much in-depth explanation of the work would have gone over my head。 Plus it seems as though Rothko had specific guidelines for the way his art should be seen 。。。 and I doubt that was minaturised in the harsh pages of a book。 However， I do now feel as though I have enough information on the artist to view his work in person with at least a smattering of background information on him。I was particularly interested to read about the work he did with the DeMenil's in Houston， which he seemed to consider to be the culmination of his career。 。。。more

Vanessa ，

Nice little coffee-table book covering Rothko's life and career。 The text isn't that interesting， but the pictures are great （as it should be）。 Nice little coffee-table book covering Rothko's life and career。 The text isn't that interesting， but the pictures are great （as it should be）。 。。。more

Steven Van Neste ，

Rothko is one of the most important painters ever， and is especially important because he had a great aesthetic awareness。 The painted work is not an image but always is a sensation and even when he fully went into color fields he did not identify his work as such， the color was a mere medium， almost like a gateway （which explains why Rothko preferred his works to be hung low to the floor） through which a person can directly come to experience the great tragedy of being。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Rothko

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Rothko&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Rothko&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0