Mark Rothko is an established name in the 20th century contemporary arts scene, after a successful career in which he left a great mark and influence over the abstract contemporary art movements, both past and present. In this article we examine quite what made Rothko's paintings so popular, their common characteristics and then cover some specific paintings in more detail, such as his classic Orange and Yellow.
Rothko, a Latvian-born American painter emigrated from Russia to the US at a young age, as part of his family's desire for greater security for their Jewish beliefs. A surprising number of famous American artists have followed a similar journey from other parts of the world.
Arshile Gorky was an early influence on Rothko at the New York New School of Design. Rothko then moved onto the Art Students League of New York where he was taught by still-life artist Max Weber, a fellow Russian Jew. Rothko's paintings had a Weberian style as Rothko began to find ways to fully express his emotions through his art.
Rothko later spent a lot of time in the company of other young artists such as Barnett Newman, Joseph Solman, Louis Schanker, and John Graham who followed the work of Milton Avery. These exeriences helped Rothko to develop further in a contemporary environment.
Mark Rothko is best known today for his mature, rectangular fields of color and light which began to take hold in his paintings around the last 1930s. It was theb around the early 1940s that many of these new contemporary styles began to gain great popularity, including Surrealism. Meetings were common between ground-breaking artists in the US and Europe. The movements of Surrealism and abstraction now began to become intertwined. Rothko's career was now to sway in time with the mood swings brought about by circumstance and his own makeup.
Mark Rothko is a key artist from his era that much can be learned from for the budding amateur artist looking to experiment with different styles and art movements. For those with interest in American Abstract Expressionism and Color Field painting, its a great place to start. Some of his work is on display curently in the Museum of Modern Art.
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