Untitled No. 11, 1963
Artist
Mark Rothko
(American, born Latvia, 1903 - 1970)
Date1963
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsOverall: 75 1/8 × 69 1/8 inches (190.82 × 175.58 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Friends of Art
Object numberF64-15
On View
On viewGallery Location
- L2
Collections
DescriptionDark burgundy ground overlaid by large, soft-edged blue-black rectangle, center. Above and below it, narrow dark brown-gray scumbled rectangles; eight small black drips over lower rectangle, lower left.Gallery LabelMark Rothko created paintings that represent the transcendence of self and the contemplation of a spiritual realm. Composed of closely matched hues, his soft-edged rectangles appear to float on another field of color. These atmospheric paintings serve as reference points for psychological states and suggest a way of being that is quiet and meditative.
A tenet of Zen philosophy states: "In emptiness, forms are born." Rothko's painting, much like a void, allows the viewer an opportunity to confront the self and discover the universe anew. The artist believed that his work offered a ritual passage to a sacred realm.
Untitled, No. 11, 1963 belongs to a series of works known as the "dark paintings." Prior to this body of work, Rothko produced paintings similar in form, but of intensely rich and varied colors. When a new generation of critics began discussing his pulsing chromatic works in formalist terms, as expressions of color relationships only, Rothko began painting in dark tones, in defiance of their limited interpretations.
A tenet of Zen philosophy states: "In emptiness, forms are born." Rothko's painting, much like a void, allows the viewer an opportunity to confront the self and discover the universe anew. The artist believed that his work offered a ritual passage to a sacred realm.
Untitled, No. 11, 1963 belongs to a series of works known as the "dark paintings." Prior to this body of work, Rothko produced paintings similar in form, but of intensely rich and varied colors. When a new generation of critics began discussing his pulsing chromatic works in formalist terms, as expressions of color relationships only, Rothko began painting in dark tones, in defiance of their limited interpretations.
Copyright© Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
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