Mark Rothko (1903–1970), No. 210/No. 211 (Orange), 1960
Oil on canvas, 69 × 63 in. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas. 2012.20. © 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
“I’m interested only in expressing basic human emotions––tragedy, ecstasy, doom and so on”
—Mark Rothko
Take a moment to notice how Rothko’s arrangement of colors makes you feel. Are you at peace? Overwhelmed? Filled with dread? Amazed?
Mark Rothko considered painting a spiritual experience and intended his large canvases to encompass our entire field of vision. His color field paintings––recognizable by their large, solid swaths of color––provide a unique space for reflection and meditation, inviting viewers to respond with their own emotions.