Seated Woman, Bare Breasted with Left Arm Raised 

This graphite drawing, "Seated Woman, Bare Breasted with Left Arm Raised," was created by Mark Rothko. The composition is stark; the figure is centrally placed, seated in an ornate chair, set against a backdrop of swirling lines. The figure's raised arm and bare breasts introduce a dynamic tension, contrasting with the static, almost hieratic pose. Rothko’s approach here is intriguing. The swirling background could be read as a disruption of conventional space, or even an early sign of Rothko's interest in destabilizing established forms. Semiotically, the bare breasts and raised arm are signs which resist easy categorization, challenging fixed meanings of sexuality and power. Consider the contrast between the clearly delineated form of the chair and the more loosely defined rendering of the figure. Is Rothko suggesting a critique of traditional representation, a movement away from the concrete towards the abstract? This drawing invites us to see art as a site where fixed meanings dissolve into a field of possibilities.