Mark ROTHKO (1903-1970)
See also : Early Rothko Rothko 1957-70 Abstract art USA
Calendar : 1950-1959 1950 1951 1952 1954 1955 1957 1958 1960-1969 1960 1961
Calendar : 1950-1959 1950 1951 1952 1954 1955 1957 1958 1960-1969 1960 1961
1950 White Center by Rothko
2007 SOLD for $ 73M including premium by Sotheby's
narrated in 2020
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 skylight, 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 including premium 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 skylight, 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 including premium 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 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 :
1952 No. 15
2008 SOLD for $ 50M by Christie's
May 13, 2008
Reported by Artnet.
Reported by Artnet.
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
narrated in 2020
In 1954 Mark Rothko is very irritated because his solo exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago is a great success. The public is still influenced by journalists and he fears that from then on nobody will understand the mystical meaning of his art or, still worse, will consider him as a colorist or a decorator. In the following year Yves Klein will have a similar reaction during the first exhibition of his monochromes.
Rothko's opinion is difficult to anticipate. In 1955 he was furious with an art critic who had declared that he was a leader of post-war art because he perfectly mastered the serenity of the symmetries. In 1954 he expressed a great satisfaction when another critic observed that the tension in the color relationships was so great that it gave the impression of an imminent outburst.
In his fame, Rothko became completely misanthropic and frustrated. In 1955, for the simple pleasure of getting angry with this former friend, Clyfford Still and Barnett Newman described his art as commercial and bourgeois. Subsequently Rothko worked hard on his paintings without resorting to words. He will never disclose the real causes of his unilateral abandonment of the Seagram Murals project in 1959, which was certainly due to his self-esteem.
The opus numbered 11 in the nomenclature of 1957 is related to its traditional style, with a background of glowing orange structures still livened up by the contrast with a luminescent rectangle. This oil on canvas 202 x 177 cm was sold for $ 46M including premium by Christie's on November 12, 2013 over a lower estimate of $ 25M, lot 21.
Rothko seeks again and again to reveal the forces of pain, violence, tragedy and ecstasy. Also in 1957 he begins to systematically experience the existence of an intense emotional expression in dark colors. The opus numbered 17 in the nomenclature for that year is a demonstrative example. This oil on canvas 233 x 177 cm was sold for $ 32.6M including premium by Christie's on May 10, 2016.
Rothko's opinion is difficult to anticipate. In 1955 he was furious with an art critic who had declared that he was a leader of post-war art because he perfectly mastered the serenity of the symmetries. In 1954 he expressed a great satisfaction when another critic observed that the tension in the color relationships was so great that it gave the impression of an imminent outburst.
In his fame, Rothko became completely misanthropic and frustrated. In 1955, for the simple pleasure of getting angry with this former friend, Clyfford Still and Barnett Newman described his art as commercial and bourgeois. Subsequently Rothko worked hard on his paintings without resorting to words. He will never disclose the real causes of his unilateral abandonment of the Seagram Murals project in 1959, which was certainly due to his self-esteem.
The opus numbered 11 in the nomenclature of 1957 is related to its traditional style, with a background of glowing orange structures still livened up by the contrast with a luminescent rectangle. This oil on canvas 202 x 177 cm was sold for $ 46M including premium by Christie's on November 12, 2013 over a lower estimate of $ 25M, lot 21.
Rothko seeks again and again to reveal the forces of pain, violence, tragedy and ecstasy. Also in 1957 he begins to systematically experience the existence of an intense emotional expression in dark colors. The opus numbered 17 in the nomenclature for that year is a demonstrative example. This oil on canvas 233 x 177 cm was sold for $ 32.6M including premium by Christie's on May 10, 2016.
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 :
1960 Rothko from Decoration to Meditation
2019 SOLD for $ 50M including premium
In 1958 Mark Rothko accepted the contract with the Seagram company for a series of murals to decorate the new Four Seasons restaurant. The dark colors chosen by the artist are paradoxically expressing some disgust of the luxury atmosphere for which he performs this work.
In the following year, while the paintings were nearly completed, Rothko abruptly breaks the contract and returns to Seagram the money that had been paid in advance. He did not give a clear explanation of this decision. The artist was indeed known as temperamental, but we may especially question why he had accepted this contract that went against his social ideas.
The sequence that led to this anger, however, has a plausible hypothesis. Between acceptance and rejection of the contract, Rothko made a tour of Europe. While admiring Michelangelo in Florence, he understands the major role of the place where an artwork is exhibited. He has a too great opinion of his own art to become a mere restaurant decorator.
On May 16 in New York, Sotheby's sells a 175 x 127 cm oil on canvas painted in 1960, lot 12 estimated $ 35M.
This composition is a hybrid between the dialogue of dark colors, here a burgundy rectangle and a maroon rectangle, and a creamy white rectangle at the bottom of the image. Such an extreme opposition is rare in Rothko's art. It can be compared to a Dark over Light painted in 1954, sold for $ 30.7M including premium by Christie's on May 17, 2018, for which the rational explanation was the simulation of a window of light to snap the viewer up to this work.
In 1962 John and Dominique de Menil discover the expressive power of the dark hues of Rothko's Seagram style. From 1965 they sponsor a place of meditation that is much better suited to the artist than a luxury restaurant and which will become the Rothko Chapel.
Please watch the two videos shared by Sotheby's, in the categories First Look and Expert Voices.
In the following year, while the paintings were nearly completed, Rothko abruptly breaks the contract and returns to Seagram the money that had been paid in advance. He did not give a clear explanation of this decision. The artist was indeed known as temperamental, but we may especially question why he had accepted this contract that went against his social ideas.
The sequence that led to this anger, however, has a plausible hypothesis. Between acceptance and rejection of the contract, Rothko made a tour of Europe. While admiring Michelangelo in Florence, he understands the major role of the place where an artwork is exhibited. He has a too great opinion of his own art to become a mere restaurant decorator.
On May 16 in New York, Sotheby's sells a 175 x 127 cm oil on canvas painted in 1960, lot 12 estimated $ 35M.
This composition is a hybrid between the dialogue of dark colors, here a burgundy rectangle and a maroon rectangle, and a creamy white rectangle at the bottom of the image. Such an extreme opposition is rare in Rothko's art. It can be compared to a Dark over Light painted in 1954, sold for $ 30.7M including premium by Christie's on May 17, 2018, for which the rational explanation was the simulation of a window of light to snap the viewer up to this work.
In 1962 John and Dominique de Menil discover the expressive power of the dark hues of Rothko's Seagram style. From 1965 they sponsor a place of meditation that is much better suited to the artist than a luxury restaurant and which will become the Rothko Chapel.
Please watch the two videos shared by Sotheby's, in the categories First Look and Expert Voices.
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 :
