Mark ROTHKO (1903-1970)
See also : Abstract art USA
Calendar : 1950-1959 1950 1951 1952 1954 1955 1957 1958 1960-1969 1961 1970-1979 1970
Calendar : 1950-1959 1950 1951 1952 1954 1955 1957 1958 1960-1969 1961 1970-1979 1970
1950 White Center (yellow, pink and lavender on rose) by Rothko
2007 SOLD for $ 73M including premium by Sotheby's
The low resolution image below is shared by Wikimedia for fair use :
1951 The Dramatic Painting of Mark Rothko
2014 SOLD for $ 45M including premium
Mark Rothko considers the artistic creation as if it were a mythological tragedy, with a dramatic vision 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 in New York, Sotheby's sells Number 21, 1951, a painting in red, brown, black and orange, lot 17.
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, 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 in New York, Sotheby's sells Number 21, 1951, a painting in red, brown, black and orange, lot 17.
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, 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 The New Language of Mark Rothko
2014 SOLD 66 M$ including premium
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. Rothko is the total opposite to Mondrian.
One of his sixteen dramas made in 1950 welcomes four players : white, yellow, pink and lavender. This painting 206 x 141 cm was sold for $ 73M including premium by Sotheby's on May 15, 2007.
On May 13 in New York, Christie's sells an oil on canvas 262 x 159 cm painted in 1952. At that time, the artistic language of Rothko is stabilized and this outstanding colorist can therefore optimize the emotional effect of his compositions. An interview given by Christie's to the Wall Street Journal reveals the estimate of $ 40M to $ 60M.
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.
I often said that the reproductions on paper or online do not allow to understand the art of Rothko. The video shared by Christie's is a remarkable demonstration of the high quality in the art and technique of the most subtle colorist of all time.
POST SALE COMMENT
This outstanding Rothko painting was sold for $ 66M including premium.
The low resolution image below is shared by Wikimedia for fair use :
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. Rothko is the total opposite to Mondrian.
One of his sixteen dramas made in 1950 welcomes four players : white, yellow, pink and lavender. This painting 206 x 141 cm was sold for $ 73M including premium by Sotheby's on May 15, 2007.
On May 13 in New York, Christie's sells an oil on canvas 262 x 159 cm painted in 1952. At that time, the artistic language of Rothko is stabilized and this outstanding colorist can therefore optimize the emotional effect of his compositions. An interview given by Christie's to the Wall Street Journal reveals the estimate of $ 40M to $ 60M.
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.
I often said that the reproductions on paper or online do not allow to understand the art of Rothko. The video shared by Christie's is a remarkable demonstration of the high quality in the art and technique of the most subtle colorist of all time.
POST SALE COMMENT
This outstanding Rothko painting was sold for $ 66M including premium.
The low resolution image below is shared by Wikimedia for fair use :
1954 Red-Blue Shock by Rothko
2012 SOLD 75 M$ including premium
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 is estimated $ 35M, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 13. It is illustrated in the release shared by Artdaily.
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.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sold $ 75M including premium, the Rothko has far exceeded its estimate.
It comes close to the 1961 Orange Red Yellow sold $ 87M including premium sold by Christie's on May 8, 2012, less tall but belonging to the culminating period of the emotional expression by Rothko.
The low resolution image below is shared by Wikimedia for fair use :
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 is estimated $ 35M, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 13. It is illustrated in the release shared by Artdaily.
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.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sold $ 75M including premium, the Rothko has far exceeded its estimate.
It comes close to the 1961 Orange Red Yellow sold $ 87M including premium sold by Christie's on May 8, 2012, less tall but belonging to the culminating period of the emotional expression by Rothko.
The low resolution image below is shared by Wikimedia for fair use :
1954 Positioning the Blue
2015 SOLD for $ 46M including premium
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 including premium by Sotheby's on November 13, 2012.
The artist finds another competitor 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 is estimated $ 40M for sale bySotheby's in New York on May 12, lot 11. 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 including premium by Phillips on 15 May 2014.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's.
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 including premium by Sotheby's on November 13, 2012.
The artist finds another competitor 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 is estimated $ 40M for sale bySotheby's in New York on May 12, lot 11. 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 including premium by Phillips on 15 May 2014.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's.
1955 The Drama of the Blue
2014 SOLD 56 M$ including premium
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 including premium by Sotheby's on November 13, 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 including premium at Christie's on November 13, 2007. It comes back to New York to be sold by Phillips on May 15, lot 18 in the catalog.
I invite you to play the video shared by Phillips.
POST SALE COMMENT
This fascinating Rothko painting has far exceeded its 2007 result. It has been sold for $ 56M including premium.
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 including premium by Sotheby's on November 13, 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 including premium at Christie's on November 13, 2007. It comes back to New York to be sold by Phillips on May 15, lot 18 in the catalog.
I invite you to play the video shared by Phillips.
POST SALE COMMENT
This fascinating Rothko painting has far exceeded its 2007 result. It has been sold for $ 56M including premium.
1957 No. 11 by Mark Rothko
2013 SOLD for $ 46M including premium by Christie's
1958 The Transcending Color of Mark Rothko
2015 SOLD for $ 82M including premium
In 1958, Mark Rothko is famous and unhappy. He is unhappy because he is famous and because he sees the public admiring the game of balance between the bright colors of his signature blocks. He targeted to show the variety of emotions from mystical to profane but is he more than just a designer?
He accepts at first a huge order for the future restaurant in Seagram's building but this step forward certainly increases his confusion. In an extraordinary burst of creativity, he rejects the vivid colors. Rembrandt knew how to throw the light out of the shadow, there is no reason that could prevent Rothko to do it.
On May 15, 2013 in New York, Christie's sold for $ 27M including premium a Black on Maroon 183 x 114 cm that participates in that momentum and is not yet a symptom of the tragic depression of the artist in the following decade.
On May 13 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 35B the No 10 (1958), oil on canvas 239 x 176 cm. An infinite variety of colors predominantly brown interweaves within the rectangles whose structure is superseded by a magnificent halo effect.
When he broke with Seagram's, Rothko said not without wickedness that he wanted to cut hunger to the restaurant's guests. With this No. 10 contemporary of that failed project, the frustrated artist wanted to replace the sensational by the sublime but his art was to become increasingly elitist.
The video shared by Christie's shows the key importance of that year in the creative process of this highly temperamental artist.
The low resolution image below is shared by Wikimedia for fair use :
He accepts at first a huge order for the future restaurant in Seagram's building but this step forward certainly increases his confusion. In an extraordinary burst of creativity, he rejects the vivid colors. Rembrandt knew how to throw the light out of the shadow, there is no reason that could prevent Rothko to do it.
On May 15, 2013 in New York, Christie's sold for $ 27M including premium a Black on Maroon 183 x 114 cm that participates in that momentum and is not yet a symptom of the tragic depression of the artist in the following decade.
On May 13 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 35B the No 10 (1958), oil on canvas 239 x 176 cm. An infinite variety of colors predominantly brown interweaves within the rectangles whose structure is superseded by a magnificent halo effect.
When he broke with Seagram's, Rothko said not without wickedness that he wanted to cut hunger to the restaurant's guests. With this No. 10 contemporary of that failed project, the frustrated artist wanted to replace the sensational by the sublime but his art was to become increasingly elitist.
The video shared by Christie's shows the key importance of that year in the creative process of this highly temperamental artist.
The low resolution image below is shared by Wikimedia for fair use :
1958 The Year of the Seagram Murals
2015 SOLD for $ 40.5M including premium
1958 marked a turning point in the work of Mark Rothko, with two major concerns: increasing the luminescence to avoid assimilation to kitsch and releasing his art from the vertical format less suitable for his new project of the Seagram Murals. It may even seem surprising that the artist had much neglected the horizontal format so conducive to offer an immersion when facing the alignment of the eyes of the viewer.
Looking for strong colors, he achieves an incandescent heat by confronting red and orange. No. 36 (black stripe) is an astonishing abstract landscape, oil on canvas 157 x 170 cm.
The red background is reduced to the edges and inter-blocks of the picture but sets the tone by its aggressive light. The rectangles that widely spread in this new balance of composition are a dazzling orange and a narrower dark red separated by a dominating deep black stripe.
Mark Rothko, by his temperamental personality, did not try to communicate with relatives but with humanity by providing emotions altogether basic and intense. Moved by the strength of the red, he almost reaches his admitted but impossible purpose that the creator of the art and the observer must feel the same mesmerizing effect.
No. 36 is estimated $ 30M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 11, lot 13A. I invite you to watch the video shared by the auction house.
Looking for strong colors, he achieves an incandescent heat by confronting red and orange. No. 36 (black stripe) is an astonishing abstract landscape, oil on canvas 157 x 170 cm.
The red background is reduced to the edges and inter-blocks of the picture but sets the tone by its aggressive light. The rectangles that widely spread in this new balance of composition are a dazzling orange and a narrower dark red separated by a dominating deep black stripe.
Mark Rothko, by his temperamental personality, did not try to communicate with relatives but with humanity by providing emotions altogether basic and intense. Moved by the strength of the red, he almost reaches his admitted but impossible purpose that the creator of the art and the observer must feel the same mesmerizing effect.
No. 36 is estimated $ 30M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 11, lot 13A. I invite you to watch the video shared by the auction house.
1961 The Vibrant Vermilion of Mark Rothko
2012 SOLD 87 M$ including premium
The art of Mark Rothko reached the top of its power in 1961.
The dimensions of his canvases have increased and are standardized. The rectangles occupy almost all the available surface, over a negligible neutral background. Most significantly, the preferred color of the artist is now the most vibrant of them : red.
On May 8 in New York, Christie's sells an oil on canvas, 236 x 206 cm, titled Orange, Red, Yellow. It is dominated by a bright vermilion, omnipresent, whose perfect monochromy is the result of a meticulous brushwork.
This painting was owned since 1967 by a demanding collector who considered it as one of the most successful pieces in Rothko's art. Its estimate, $ 35M, is consistent with the results already discussed in this column for his works of the same year.
POST SALE COMMENT
The demanding collector had a good taste. 45 years later, his vermilion Rothko is enshrined as one of the masterpieces of the artist. It was sold $ 87M including premium.
It is gratifying to note that this fabulous price rewards a work from the best years of maturity of the master. The oil on canvas with more varied colors which was sold $ 73M including premium by Sotheby's on May 15, 2007 was made in 1950, 11 years before.
The low resolution image below is shared by Wikimedia for fair use :
The dimensions of his canvases have increased and are standardized. The rectangles occupy almost all the available surface, over a negligible neutral background. Most significantly, the preferred color of the artist is now the most vibrant of them : red.
On May 8 in New York, Christie's sells an oil on canvas, 236 x 206 cm, titled Orange, Red, Yellow. It is dominated by a bright vermilion, omnipresent, whose perfect monochromy is the result of a meticulous brushwork.
This painting was owned since 1967 by a demanding collector who considered it as one of the most successful pieces in Rothko's art. Its estimate, $ 35M, is consistent with the results already discussed in this column for his works of the same year.
POST SALE COMMENT
The demanding collector had a good taste. 45 years later, his vermilion Rothko is enshrined as one of the masterpieces of the artist. It was sold $ 87M including premium.
It is gratifying to note that this fabulous price rewards a work from the best years of maturity of the master. The oil on canvas with more varied colors which was sold $ 73M including premium by Sotheby's on May 15, 2007 was made in 1950, 11 years before.
The low resolution image below is shared by Wikimedia for fair use :
1961 Pink and Red on Gold
2011 SOLD 33.7 M$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
The output of some artists is fully indexed. Indeed, the experts are proud to announce that Mark Rothko created 835 paintings. Exactly.
The introduction at Christie's of a 836th opus arouses amazement and wonder. Signed, dated 1961, numbered 17,this oil on canvas was known only to its owner who had bought it directly from the artist.
We know that the market is always welcoming the unpublished works when they are authenticated. Rothko was such amagician of color that it is probably impossible to deceive his best connoisseurs.
This would not, of course, be enough to claim for $ 18M on May 11 in New York, but we are really dealing with a masterpiece. Rothko achieves the feat to generate a great brightness, even when it is reproduced with the low quality of the web, with extremely opaque monochrome rectangles against a gold background. The image is visible on the article shared by the Wall Street Journal.
The two rectangles with fringed edges have the same width. The top one, which is the smaller, is deep pink, the other is dark red.
The format, 236 x 193 cm, is large enough to immerse the visitor, according to the powerful theory of the artist. The dimensions of the canvas, the proportions and arrangement of the rectangles are very close to the haunting red Rothko, painted in the same year, sold $ 31.4 million including premium by Sotheby's on May 12, 2010.
POST SALE COMMENT
This is a major work of Rothko. We imagined its power, even on the poor images of the web. It deserves its price: $ 33.7 million including premium.
The output of some artists is fully indexed. Indeed, the experts are proud to announce that Mark Rothko created 835 paintings. Exactly.
The introduction at Christie's of a 836th opus arouses amazement and wonder. Signed, dated 1961, numbered 17,this oil on canvas was known only to its owner who had bought it directly from the artist.
We know that the market is always welcoming the unpublished works when they are authenticated. Rothko was such amagician of color that it is probably impossible to deceive his best connoisseurs.
This would not, of course, be enough to claim for $ 18M on May 11 in New York, but we are really dealing with a masterpiece. Rothko achieves the feat to generate a great brightness, even when it is reproduced with the low quality of the web, with extremely opaque monochrome rectangles against a gold background. The image is visible on the article shared by the Wall Street Journal.
The two rectangles with fringed edges have the same width. The top one, which is the smaller, is deep pink, the other is dark red.
The format, 236 x 193 cm, is large enough to immerse the visitor, according to the powerful theory of the artist. The dimensions of the canvas, the proportions and arrangement of the rectangles are very close to the haunting red Rothko, painted in the same year, sold $ 31.4 million including premium by Sotheby's on May 12, 2010.
POST SALE COMMENT
This is a major work of Rothko. We imagined its power, even on the poor images of the web. It deserves its price: $ 33.7 million including premium.
1970 Mark Rothko in his Nightfall
2014 SOLD for $ 40M including premium
Throughout his career, Rothko expressed by the relations between colors his vision of all the emotions and all cultures of the world, while voluntarily abandoning any use of figuration. By this bold and very effective approach, he became one of the most outstanding modern artists.
From the spring of 1968, nothing goes right for Mark Rothko, sick, drinker, smoker, irritable, almost impotent. His wife leaves him on 1969 new year's day. He paints small canvases dominated by gray and black expressing his new pessimistic feeling of the meaning of life.
Yet at the beginning of 1970, this highly important colorist lives a sort of restart. One of the three oils on canvas painted in this very short period, 173 x 137 cm, is estimated at $ 15M for sale bySotheby's in New York on November 10, lot 6.
This strange work is typical of his compositions but expresses the thrill of nightfall by three large dark green regions on an indigo background. It is his artistic testament, the invasion of his despair and his ultimate effort to stage a large-scale scenery.
Rothko sliced his arms with a razor on February 25, 1970.
From the spring of 1968, nothing goes right for Mark Rothko, sick, drinker, smoker, irritable, almost impotent. His wife leaves him on 1969 new year's day. He paints small canvases dominated by gray and black expressing his new pessimistic feeling of the meaning of life.
Yet at the beginning of 1970, this highly important colorist lives a sort of restart. One of the three oils on canvas painted in this very short period, 173 x 137 cm, is estimated at $ 15M for sale bySotheby's in New York on November 10, lot 6.
This strange work is typical of his compositions but expresses the thrill of nightfall by three large dark green regions on an indigo background. It is his artistic testament, the invasion of his despair and his ultimate effort to stage a large-scale scenery.
Rothko sliced his arms with a razor on February 25, 1970.