Early Rothko
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Rothko
Calendar : 1950-1959 1950 1951 1952 1954 1955
See also : Rothko
Calendar : 1950-1959 1950 1951 1952 1954 1955
Intro
Around the figurative painter Milton Avery a circle of young artists in New York sought the simplification of the forms. As an exegete of Aeschylus and Nietzsche Mark Rothko considered that a simplified painting could reinforce the expression of the most extreme passions. This theorist did not write : his aim was to set an example by his art.
A meeting and a personal tragedy set him on the road to clarity. In 1943 Rothko visited Clyfford Still in California. The art of Still is a confrontation of forces represented by abstract fields of colors with edges shredded by violence.
Rothko's mother died in October 1948 after a long illness. The artist expresses his deep grief by drawing empty horizontal rectangles in a vertical column. What could have been a simple alignment of graves becomes a new expression of forces when he fills these geometric figures with different monochromatic colors.
In 1949 Mark Rothko explores this new language and adds a perfectionist search for luminosity. Twelve works are selected for an exhibition to be held in January 1950 at the Betty Parsons Gallery in New York. They will be numbered from 1 to 12 in the sequence chosen by the artist for the hanging. Later Rothko will number his opus in a similar way by starting again with a No. 1 in each new year.
A meeting and a personal tragedy set him on the road to clarity. In 1943 Rothko visited Clyfford Still in California. The art of Still is a confrontation of forces represented by abstract fields of colors with edges shredded by violence.
Rothko's mother died in October 1948 after a long illness. The artist expresses his deep grief by drawing empty horizontal rectangles in a vertical column. What could have been a simple alignment of graves becomes a new expression of forces when he fills these geometric figures with different monochromatic colors.
In 1949 Mark Rothko explores this new language and adds a perfectionist search for luminosity. Twelve works are selected for an exhibition to be held in January 1950 at the Betty Parsons Gallery in New York. They will be numbered from 1 to 12 in the sequence chosen by the artist for the hanging. Later Rothko will number his opus in a similar way by starting again with a No. 1 in each new year.
1950 White Center
2007 SOLD for $ 73M by Sotheby's
For Rothko, painting lies about the truth of an object but it can express a sensuality. Gradually from 1947 he stages his horizontal rectangular blocks. He is inspired by the relations of powers in Clyfford Still's abstractions, by the delicacy of Bonnard's colors and by the vibrations of Matisse's complementary colors.
In 1949 the block ceases to be a support for a pseudo-calligraphic message. Each element reaches its own purity without becoming monochrome : the meticulous application of colors brings an infinite variation, in particular at the borders of each block. Most of his compositions are in vertical format. Rothko does not yet have a studio : he works in his apartment and the dimensions of the canvases remain small.
Painted in 1950, White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose) offers the whole subtlety of this new phase. For example, the background is reduced to a very narrow area around the blocks, but its orange-rose color is not uniform, as if it had been partially scratched at the lower side of the image.
The insertion of a very clear block brings an additional luminosity. Rothko will sometimes re-use this characteristic so that the viewer wraps himself more completely in the picture. Perceived as a floating outdoor light, this dazzling block makes the real position of the canvas disappear, reinforcing the feeling of an "unknown space" in the wording used by the artist.
White Center, oil on canvas 206 x 141 cm, was sold for $ 73M by Sotheby's on May 15, 2007, lot 31, the highest price recorded at that time for a post-war painting. It was purchased at that auction by the Royal Family of Qatar.
In 1949 the block ceases to be a support for a pseudo-calligraphic message. Each element reaches its own purity without becoming monochrome : the meticulous application of colors brings an infinite variation, in particular at the borders of each block. Most of his compositions are in vertical format. Rothko does not yet have a studio : he works in his apartment and the dimensions of the canvases remain small.
Painted in 1950, White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose) offers the whole subtlety of this new phase. For example, the background is reduced to a very narrow area around the blocks, but its orange-rose color is not uniform, as if it had been partially scratched at the lower side of the image.
The insertion of a very clear block brings an additional luminosity. Rothko will sometimes re-use this characteristic so that the viewer wraps himself more completely in the picture. Perceived as a floating outdoor light, this dazzling block makes the real position of the canvas disappear, reinforcing the feeling of an "unknown space" in the wording used by the artist.
White Center, oil on canvas 206 x 141 cm, was sold for $ 73M by Sotheby's on May 15, 2007, lot 31, the highest price recorded at that time for a post-war painting. It was purchased at that auction by the Royal Family of Qatar.
1951 No. 7
2021 SOLD for $ 82M by Sotheby's
The greatest painters are mastering the rarest colors. Mark Rothko went to a full abstraction in 1950 after trying for a short period to explain his floating rectangular forms as the actors of a staged drama expressing the basic human feelings.
Rothko got himself rid of such hermetic interpretations. His new target that the viewer gets immersed in the artwork in a sort of ecstasy was sufficient to offer a high number of possible color combinations.
In 1950 he was still trying to add some elements, such as the three lines in the mid block of the opus No. 5/ No. 22. The maturity of his unprecedented style is reached in the same year when only the rectangular blocks and their interstices are remaining, in a justified formatting. The colors are meticulously applied with the brush in multiple paint layers that leave some variations inside the globally monochrome blocks and on their fringed edges.
The target was ambitious to mesmerize the viewer within a mere display of colors. The artist appreciated that this effect could be only obtained in large sizes, narrow and tall for matching the proportions of the standing human body.
No. 7, 1951, is one of the deepest demonstrators of the new theories. This oil on canvas 240 x 140 cm had been exhibited at the Betty Parsons Gallery in New York as early as April 1951. Its saturated green, crimson and lavender do not differentiate in their contrast but constitute a warm and vibrant color composition.
This opus was sold for $ 82M from a lower estimate of $ 70M by Sotheby's on November 15, 2021, lot 10.
Rothko got himself rid of such hermetic interpretations. His new target that the viewer gets immersed in the artwork in a sort of ecstasy was sufficient to offer a high number of possible color combinations.
In 1950 he was still trying to add some elements, such as the three lines in the mid block of the opus No. 5/ No. 22. The maturity of his unprecedented style is reached in the same year when only the rectangular blocks and their interstices are remaining, in a justified formatting. The colors are meticulously applied with the brush in multiple paint layers that leave some variations inside the globally monochrome blocks and on their fringed edges.
The target was ambitious to mesmerize the viewer within a mere display of colors. The artist appreciated that this effect could be only obtained in large sizes, narrow and tall for matching the proportions of the standing human body.
No. 7, 1951, is one of the deepest demonstrators of the new theories. This oil on canvas 240 x 140 cm had been exhibited at the Betty Parsons Gallery in New York as early as April 1951. Its saturated green, crimson and lavender do not differentiate in their contrast but constitute a warm and vibrant color composition.
This opus was sold for $ 82M from a lower estimate of $ 70M by Sotheby's on November 15, 2021, lot 10.
1951 No. 21, 1951/1953 Red, Brown, Black and Orange
2014 SOLD for $ 45M by Sotheby's
Mark Rothko considers the artistic creation as if it were a mythological tragedy, with a dramatic arrangement that joins the still lifes by Cézanne. In 1949, he suddenly finds his way by observing color studies by Matisse. He brings a symmetry of shapes that exacerbates the struggle for influence between the colors.
On November 11, 2014, Sotheby's sold for $ 45M Number 21, 1953, a painting in red, brown, black and orange, lot 17. Executed in 1951, this opus was referred as No. 21, 1951 when it was exhibited in 1952 at the MoMa, but it was signed and dated on the reverse by the artist in 1953.
This oil on canvas 242 x 163 cm is one of the last from the time when Rothko was still working at home. The orange and red areas are lavishly shaded at the top and bottom of the image. The darker center that grows up to the top at the edges is enclosing the spread of the glow.
In the following year, 1952, Rothko finally settles in a real artist's studio. He can then indulge more freely in his quest of the sublime. He becomes more demanding, especially on the lighting conditions in the exhibitions that should participate in subduing the viewer. His trend is now toward larger canvas with a further minimalism of the colored rectangles.
On November 11, 2014, Sotheby's sold for $ 45M Number 21, 1953, a painting in red, brown, black and orange, lot 17. Executed in 1951, this opus was referred as No. 21, 1951 when it was exhibited in 1952 at the MoMa, but it was signed and dated on the reverse by the artist in 1953.
This oil on canvas 242 x 163 cm is one of the last from the time when Rothko was still working at home. The orange and red areas are lavishly shaded at the top and bottom of the image. The darker center that grows up to the top at the edges is enclosing the spread of the glow.
In the following year, 1952, Rothko finally settles in a real artist's studio. He can then indulge more freely in his quest of the sublime. He becomes more demanding, especially on the lighting conditions in the exhibitions that should participate in subduing the viewer. His trend is now toward larger canvas with a further minimalism of the colored rectangles.
1952 Untitled
2014 SOLD for $ 66M by Christie's
Mark Rothko was a philosopher, musician, theorist, chemist. These qualities enabled him to develop a new artistic language. He was not alone, of course, and this new path is enriched by the experiences of Barnett Newman and Clyfford Still, in contrast to the action painting of Pollock and Kline.
His theme now so recognizable of the color fields had matured over two decades. He begins by challenging the figuration considered as a betrayal of the represented subject, and welcomes the moves of De Kooning and probably also Gorky who delete the difference between figurative and abstract.
He deviates from this trend by observing the intricacies of colors in the latest works by Matisse and Bonnard. He then develops a mixture suitable for his project with the best available pigments associated with turpentine and organic materials.
His goal is reached: Rothko's paint may be placed on the canvas in thin translucent layers that dry quickly and can be spread in wash or drawn with brush.
From his first trial of his new technique in 1950, Rothko achieved by his meticulous layering an infinite variety of colors mostly visible at the limits of his large rectangles. His color fields do not have a geometric border, in opposition to Mondrian.
One of his sixteen dramas made in 1950 welcomed four players : white, yellow, pink and lavender. This painting 206 x 141 cm was sold for $ 73M by Sotheby's in 2007.
He had been working in his apartment but deserved a more suitable working place to release his creative energy. In 1952 he set up his studio in the 53rd street in Manhattan, close to the MoMA.
The paintings made in 1952 are composed in confrontations of rectangles whose loose edges offer a gradient of colors which accentuates the feeling of attraction or repulsion between the blocks. His output was rather low but his work from that year displays a remarkable diversity in his experiments of colors.
On May 13, 2014, Christie's sold for $ 66M an oil on canvas 262 x 159 cm painted in 1952, lot 31.
This work is dominated at the top of the canvas by a huge purple square whose mesmerizing effect is balanced by a solid dark rectangle at the bottom of the image. These two conflicting actors are separated by an orange field. The yellow orange outlining the scene reminds that Rothko did not want his paintings to be enclosed in frames.
The images on paper or online do not allow to understand the art of Rothko. The video shared by Christie's is a demonstration of the high quality in the art and technique of one of the most subtle colorists of all time. It is narrated by Brett Gorvy.
His theme now so recognizable of the color fields had matured over two decades. He begins by challenging the figuration considered as a betrayal of the represented subject, and welcomes the moves of De Kooning and probably also Gorky who delete the difference between figurative and abstract.
He deviates from this trend by observing the intricacies of colors in the latest works by Matisse and Bonnard. He then develops a mixture suitable for his project with the best available pigments associated with turpentine and organic materials.
His goal is reached: Rothko's paint may be placed on the canvas in thin translucent layers that dry quickly and can be spread in wash or drawn with brush.
From his first trial of his new technique in 1950, Rothko achieved by his meticulous layering an infinite variety of colors mostly visible at the limits of his large rectangles. His color fields do not have a geometric border, in opposition to Mondrian.
One of his sixteen dramas made in 1950 welcomed four players : white, yellow, pink and lavender. This painting 206 x 141 cm was sold for $ 73M by Sotheby's in 2007.
He had been working in his apartment but deserved a more suitable working place to release his creative energy. In 1952 he set up his studio in the 53rd street in Manhattan, close to the MoMA.
The paintings made in 1952 are composed in confrontations of rectangles whose loose edges offer a gradient of colors which accentuates the feeling of attraction or repulsion between the blocks. His output was rather low but his work from that year displays a remarkable diversity in his experiments of colors.
On May 13, 2014, Christie's sold for $ 66M an oil on canvas 262 x 159 cm painted in 1952, lot 31.
This work is dominated at the top of the canvas by a huge purple square whose mesmerizing effect is balanced by a solid dark rectangle at the bottom of the image. These two conflicting actors are separated by an orange field. The yellow orange outlining the scene reminds that Rothko did not want his paintings to be enclosed in frames.
The images on paper or online do not allow to understand the art of Rothko. The video shared by Christie's is a demonstration of the high quality in the art and technique of one of the most subtle colorists of all time. It is narrated by Brett Gorvy.
1952 No. 15
2008 SOLD for $ 50M by Christie's
In 1952 Mark Rothko needs to redefine his creativity. He now has a better workshop that allows him to consider larger vertical formats. At the same time, the rise in popularity of the abstract expressionist movement generates jealousy from the other artists including Newman and Still. Rothko's blocks simulating mystical confrontations are indeed really understandable only by himself.
No. 15, oil on canvas painted by Mark Rothko in 1952, was sold for $ 50M by Christie's on May 13, 2008, lot 23.
This important opus looks somehow experimental, in that breakthrough year when the artist improves his working conditions in his new studio.
The format, 233 x 203 cm, is nearly square, parting from his usual vertical compositions. The blocks look like a flat piece crushed between two tall and slightly wider vise jaws. The edges of these three blocks are severely jagged in the manner of Clyfford Still.
Viewed from far away the three masses seem to be in the same scarlet red. It is not the case. The upper and lower blocks are not in the same technique. One of them is denser while the other one was made in wet in wet. Similarly an underlining of the blocks breaks the apparent symmetries.
Over the yellow background, the red blocks achieve a 'shimmer', a wording used by the artist. In their actually steady position, they acquired and display a levitation, not far from a musical vibration.
No. 15, oil on canvas painted by Mark Rothko in 1952, was sold for $ 50M by Christie's on May 13, 2008, lot 23.
This important opus looks somehow experimental, in that breakthrough year when the artist improves his working conditions in his new studio.
The format, 233 x 203 cm, is nearly square, parting from his usual vertical compositions. The blocks look like a flat piece crushed between two tall and slightly wider vise jaws. The edges of these three blocks are severely jagged in the manner of Clyfford Still.
Viewed from far away the three masses seem to be in the same scarlet red. It is not the case. The upper and lower blocks are not in the same technique. One of them is denser while the other one was made in wet in wet. Similarly an underlining of the blocks breaks the apparent symmetries.
Over the yellow background, the red blocks achieve a 'shimmer', a wording used by the artist. In their actually steady position, they acquired and display a levitation, not far from a musical vibration.
1954 No. 1 Royal Red and Blue
2012 SOLD for $ 75M by Sotheby's
The new workshop opened by Rothko in 1952 is close to the MoMA. The contemplation of Matisse's Atelier Rouge is a new starting point for Rothko. In this oil on canvas painted in 1911, Matisse has limited the image to a very saturated dark red wall to which a few small objects bring their contrasting colors. Despite the presence of the table and floor, the perspective is almost annihilated.
In 1953 Rothko continues his main theme of assembling rectangles of bright colors. Yet some paintings are directly inspired by the Atelier Rouge. This is undoubtedly the case for Blue over Red, oil on canvas 163 x 89 cm. On an orange background modulated with ochre and yellow, the blocks separated by strips of light are not very contrasted, with the exception of a bright blue band in the upper part of the image which could be a painting on Matisse's wall.
Blue over Red was sold for $ 26.5M by Sotheby's on November 14, 2019, lot 26. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
This research has been fruitful for the artist. He will now look for illusions of the pulsation of light by the contradictory forces of dilatation and contraction, and will soon replace the garish colors with dark hues.
In 1954 Mark Rothko is invited by the Art Institute of Chicago to prepare a solo exhibition. He selects eight of his works. The event will have a huge impact on his reputation.
Since several years at that time, he organizes his paintings in confrontations of colors for which the composition in stacks of rectangular blocks is always present but is no longer the essential element.
1954 No. 1 (Royal Red and Blue) is one of the eight works presented in Chicago. It is already typical of the exceptional understanding of Rothko to achieve the maximum emotional level.
It is very large, 289 x 172 cm. Divided into several shades, the reds dominate. At the bottom of the canvas, the red hegemony is interrupted by an aggressive bright blue rectangle. This painting was sold for $ 75M from a lower estimate of $ 35M by Sotheby's on November 13, 2012, lot 19. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
In subsequent years, the reds will increasingly be the major actors in the artistic drama realized by Rothko, taking drama in its etymological meaning of theater. They will now have less need to rely on opponents like the blue of that No. 1.
In 1953 Rothko continues his main theme of assembling rectangles of bright colors. Yet some paintings are directly inspired by the Atelier Rouge. This is undoubtedly the case for Blue over Red, oil on canvas 163 x 89 cm. On an orange background modulated with ochre and yellow, the blocks separated by strips of light are not very contrasted, with the exception of a bright blue band in the upper part of the image which could be a painting on Matisse's wall.
Blue over Red was sold for $ 26.5M by Sotheby's on November 14, 2019, lot 26. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
This research has been fruitful for the artist. He will now look for illusions of the pulsation of light by the contradictory forces of dilatation and contraction, and will soon replace the garish colors with dark hues.
In 1954 Mark Rothko is invited by the Art Institute of Chicago to prepare a solo exhibition. He selects eight of his works. The event will have a huge impact on his reputation.
Since several years at that time, he organizes his paintings in confrontations of colors for which the composition in stacks of rectangular blocks is always present but is no longer the essential element.
1954 No. 1 (Royal Red and Blue) is one of the eight works presented in Chicago. It is already typical of the exceptional understanding of Rothko to achieve the maximum emotional level.
It is very large, 289 x 172 cm. Divided into several shades, the reds dominate. At the bottom of the canvas, the red hegemony is interrupted by an aggressive bright blue rectangle. This painting was sold for $ 75M from a lower estimate of $ 35M by Sotheby's on November 13, 2012, lot 19. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
In subsequent years, the reds will increasingly be the major actors in the artistic drama realized by Rothko, taking drama in its etymological meaning of theater. They will now have less need to rely on opponents like the blue of that No. 1.
1954 Yellow and Blue
2015 SOLD for $ 46M by Sotheby's
An intense blue can not leave indifferent the modern artists. This cold color brings a physiological feeling of remoteness. It does not mix with the other colors when they play creating harmonies together. When it is dominant, the blue is aggressive.
At the early stage of his signature style in abstract art, Mark Rothko made many proposals for positioning the blue. This color is far from appearing in most of his works but it brings in alternance with the black the very sense of tragic expression that the artist was endeavoring to forward.
When the blue rectangular area is in the lower side of the picture, it wins a stability that reduces the role of the other colors like if it is the monarch in the battlefield. Rothko seeks which color can resist.
Taking advantage of a very low position of the blue, a deep red distributed in several shades almost won the game in the splendid No. 1 painted in 1954, 289 x 172 cm, which was sold for $ 75M by Sotheby's in 2012.
The artist finds another competing color in the same year in a dark bright yellow. Blue stubbornly defends its position by invading almost the entire available width in an exception to the usual principles of the artist's composition.
This oil on canvas 243 x 187 cm was sold by Sotheby's for $ 46M on May 12, 2015, lot 11 and for HK $ 250M on November 11, 2024, lot 19. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
After the death of Rothko, this painting belonged to the Mellon collection that once included the best set of works by this artist in private hands.
The tragedy of the blue did not stop at that point. In 1955, it managed to dominate the top of the image within an oil on canvas 169 x 125 cm sold for $ 56M by Phillips in 2014.
At the early stage of his signature style in abstract art, Mark Rothko made many proposals for positioning the blue. This color is far from appearing in most of his works but it brings in alternance with the black the very sense of tragic expression that the artist was endeavoring to forward.
When the blue rectangular area is in the lower side of the picture, it wins a stability that reduces the role of the other colors like if it is the monarch in the battlefield. Rothko seeks which color can resist.
Taking advantage of a very low position of the blue, a deep red distributed in several shades almost won the game in the splendid No. 1 painted in 1954, 289 x 172 cm, which was sold for $ 75M by Sotheby's in 2012.
The artist finds another competing color in the same year in a dark bright yellow. Blue stubbornly defends its position by invading almost the entire available width in an exception to the usual principles of the artist's composition.
This oil on canvas 243 x 187 cm was sold by Sotheby's for $ 46M on May 12, 2015, lot 11 and for HK $ 250M on November 11, 2024, lot 19. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
After the death of Rothko, this painting belonged to the Mellon collection that once included the best set of works by this artist in private hands.
The tragedy of the blue did not stop at that point. In 1955, it managed to dominate the top of the image within an oil on canvas 169 x 125 cm sold for $ 56M by Phillips in 2014.
1954 No. 7 Dark over Light
2018 SOLD for $ 30.7M by Christie's
With his immutable pattern of blocks, Mark Rothko goes even further than Malevich in the elimination of the figurative and of the narrative. His colors seek to push away one another in a dramatic confrontation that is different each time. The exceptions deserve an explanation.
The No. 7 from 1954, oil on canvas 229 x 149 cm, was sold twice by Christie's, for $ 21M on November 13, 2007 and for $ 30.7M as lot 34 B on May 17, 2018.
No. 7 is well described by its usual subtitle that does not announce a color : Dark over Light. Another subtitle which is sometimes used is White and Black on Red. Both blocks are centered but the black upper block is wider than the white lower block. This dark part is very homogeneous in density, which is also unusual.
An exhibition plan justifies these specific characteristics.
Rothko composed his artworks very carefully but he also foresaw their respective roles. It was necessary to capture the visitor as soon as he entered the room, without his attention being attracted by ambient decorations. In 1957 in Houston, Rothko hangs this No. 7 in the first room. The visitor is attracted by the intense light emanating from its fake white window. The black block is of lesser importance and serves primarily for the contrast.
The No. 7 from 1954, oil on canvas 229 x 149 cm, was sold twice by Christie's, for $ 21M on November 13, 2007 and for $ 30.7M as lot 34 B on May 17, 2018.
No. 7 is well described by its usual subtitle that does not announce a color : Dark over Light. Another subtitle which is sometimes used is White and Black on Red. Both blocks are centered but the black upper block is wider than the white lower block. This dark part is very homogeneous in density, which is also unusual.
An exhibition plan justifies these specific characteristics.
Rothko composed his artworks very carefully but he also foresaw their respective roles. It was necessary to capture the visitor as soon as he entered the room, without his attention being attracted by ambient decorations. In 1957 in Houston, Rothko hangs this No. 7 in the first room. The visitor is attracted by the intense light emanating from its fake white window. The black block is of lesser importance and serves primarily for the contrast.
1955 Red, Blue, Orange
2014 SOLD for $ 56M by Phillips
Cézanne sought to express the relations of forces of the tragedy through the disposition of his fruit. The art of Mark Rothko does the same by the opposition of the fields of color.
Rothko endeavored to reach the primitive force of the myth and was studying Nietzsche. He consciously conceived his art as a drama. At the same time, Barnett Newman wanted to express a mystical vision of the origin of the world. For both artists, the total abstraction is a means to reach the absolute by discarding any narrative illusion.
Do not say that Rothko's abstract art is empty of characters. By captivating the viewer, the artist incorporates him into the work.
In this battle of the color fields, the vivid blue plays a fundamental role in the abstract beginnings of Rothko. The blue area is not predominant in the No. 1 (Royal red and blue) painted in 1954 but it is in the lower part, ready to pounce. This canvas 289 x 172 cm was sold for $ 75M by Sotheby's in 2012.
Smaller, 169 x 125 cm, the Untitled (Red, Blue, Orange) oil on canvas painted in 1955 can be seen as a continuation of the Royal red and blue. Its navy blue, underlined on all sides by an azure border, has won the top side and is towering over the viewer. More timid, the orange field protects itself by a slightly darker thin line.
Untitled (Red, Blue, Orange) was sold for $ 34M by Christie's on November 13, 2007, lot 12, and for $ 56M by Phillips on May 15, 2014, lot 18. Please watch the video shared by Phillips.
Rothko endeavored to reach the primitive force of the myth and was studying Nietzsche. He consciously conceived his art as a drama. At the same time, Barnett Newman wanted to express a mystical vision of the origin of the world. For both artists, the total abstraction is a means to reach the absolute by discarding any narrative illusion.
Do not say that Rothko's abstract art is empty of characters. By captivating the viewer, the artist incorporates him into the work.
In this battle of the color fields, the vivid blue plays a fundamental role in the abstract beginnings of Rothko. The blue area is not predominant in the No. 1 (Royal red and blue) painted in 1954 but it is in the lower part, ready to pounce. This canvas 289 x 172 cm was sold for $ 75M by Sotheby's in 2012.
Smaller, 169 x 125 cm, the Untitled (Red, Blue, Orange) oil on canvas painted in 1955 can be seen as a continuation of the Royal red and blue. Its navy blue, underlined on all sides by an azure border, has won the top side and is towering over the viewer. More timid, the orange field protects itself by a slightly darker thin line.
Untitled (Red, Blue, Orange) was sold for $ 34M by Christie's on November 13, 2007, lot 12, and for $ 56M by Phillips on May 15, 2014, lot 18. Please watch the video shared by Phillips.
1955 Yellow, Orange, Yellow, Light Orange
2023 SOLD for $ 46M by Christie's
An oil on canvas 207 x 153 cm painted by Rothko in 1955 had been kept by him without being attributed a reference in the nomenclature of his work.
This piece is influenced by the brilliant colors of daybreak, orange for the upper rectangular field, lighter orange for the lower field, plus two shades of yellow in the bands and background.
Such a mesmeric limitation to oranges and yellows is unique in Rothko's work. It is indeed a great example of his desire to express a dual hostility illustrating in abstraction Nietzsche's Birth of Tragedy.
It was designed in the artist's usual practice to be viewed at a distance of 18 inches. The edges of the rectangles keep the errant marks of brushstrokes and drips. The paint application by thinned transparent layers creates a gradual shifting of the pigment from dark to light.
Untitled (yellow, orange, yellow, light orange) was sold for $ 36.6M by Sotheby's on November 10, 2014, lot 14 in the sale of the Mellon collection and for $ 46M by Christie's on November 9, 2023, lot 19 B.
This piece is influenced by the brilliant colors of daybreak, orange for the upper rectangular field, lighter orange for the lower field, plus two shades of yellow in the bands and background.
Such a mesmeric limitation to oranges and yellows is unique in Rothko's work. It is indeed a great example of his desire to express a dual hostility illustrating in abstraction Nietzsche's Birth of Tragedy.
It was designed in the artist's usual practice to be viewed at a distance of 18 inches. The edges of the rectangles keep the errant marks of brushstrokes and drips. The paint application by thinned transparent layers creates a gradual shifting of the pigment from dark to light.
Untitled (yellow, orange, yellow, light orange) was sold for $ 36.6M by Sotheby's on November 10, 2014, lot 14 in the sale of the Mellon collection and for $ 46M by Christie's on November 9, 2023, lot 19 B.
