Reclining Figure Reading [verso] 

This is Mark Rothko's sketch, *Reclining Figure Reading*, drawn with graphite on paper. The composition presents a figure in repose, lying on what seems to be a cushioned surface, deeply absorbed in a book. The drawing's formal structure is defined by delicate, almost ephemeral lines. These lines do not rigidly define form, but suggest it, allowing the figure and her environment to emerge from a network of subtle marks. There is a softness here, an ambiguity that invites interpretation. Note how the open, unfixed composition draws from the visual language of Surrealism, in which clarity and logic yield to the fluidity of dreams and the subconscious. Rothko destabilizes our expectations of representation by using form to explore themes of interiority. What we see is not just a person reading, but a study in contemplative solitude. The figure is rendered with an economy of means, the suggestive lines hinting at the contours of a face, the fall of hair, the position of limbs. The background is deliberately sparse, pushing the figure forward and creating an intimate viewing experience.