White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose) 1950

Mark Rothko created "White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose)" with oil paint on canvas, though the exact date remains unknown. Rothko, born in Latvia and of Jewish heritage, emigrated to the United States and bore witness to the atrocities of the Second World War. Rothko turned to abstraction to express profound human emotions. His signature style, developed in the late 1940s, features large, luminous color fields arranged in rectangular forms. Rothko believed his paintings could evoke a deeply personal experience, stating, "I'm not interested in relationships of color or form or anything else. I'm interested only in expressing basic human emotions: tragedy, ecstasy, doom." Here, observe how the colors seem to float and vibrate, creating an ethereal and meditative atmosphere. Rothko challenges traditional representation, inviting viewers to engage with the work on an emotional level. His work reflects existential themes of human vulnerability and resilience, inviting us to contemplate our place in the world.