Like many great artists, Rothko moved through multiple artistic styles before he arrived at his defining practice.
Before his famous color field paintings, Rothko dabbled in figurative and surrealist works.
Read on to discover some of Mark Rothkos paintings that show how his artistic style progressed throughout his career.
Here are six paintings that define Mark Rothko’s artistic journey.
It demonstrates the artists feelings towards contemporary urban life and is essentially a portrait of societys alienation.
The paintingwith its murky, dull huesevokes a somber mood.
Rothko painted this piece while he was courting Mary Beistel, who later became his second wife.
Some interpret the scene as a whimsical visualization of romance.
Untitled (No.
73)is an example of Rothkos mature style for which is he is most well-known.
His iconic color field works feature stacks of vibrant rectangles that are intended to express big emotions.
Rothko painted rectangles as a way to abstractly represent the figures and forms in his earlier works.
These new shapes say…what the symbols said.
Rothko rendered this piece by layering many coats of paint to create depth.
Emerging from the luminous red background, four dark rectangular areas dominate the composition.
When this almost 10-foot wide canvas is seen up-close, the viewer is engulfed in the intense atmosphere.
When asked about the series.
Rothko explained it was about death.
He sadly died by suicide just one year later.
