Portrait Head of a Woman with Brown Hair 

Editor: This is "Portrait Head of a Woman with Brown Hair," probably by Mark Rothko, and it looks like watercolor and charcoal. The mood is contemplative, melancholic almost. The blue wash around the figure sets that tone. What do you see when you look at it? Curator: Well, the blue isn't just background, is it? It feels…internal. Like the figure is awash in emotion. The sketchy lines and the blurring of the face, it all suggests someone wrestling with something unseen, almost disappearing. Rothko's better known for his color fields, these luminous rectangles. Seeing this, one wonders if those fields weren’t always about pure abstraction, but echoes of the human spirit dissolving. Don’t you get that sense of dissolving, of being almost, but not quite, there? Editor: Absolutely, especially around the edges of her face and hair. It's like she is fading. I always expect a strong emotion in Rothko. But watercolor feels more subtle than oil, I expected. Curator: The unexpected, yes. Even the brown hair, that feels weighty, dragging her down. Maybe we look to his abstract period for clues? The color a representation, somehow, of a feeling of loss? Perhaps she's disappearing because someone has forgotten her. Editor: Wow. So the medium is communicating even beyond the color, brush strokes and the lines themselves. The lack of definition contributes as much as color choice. I am glad that watercolor allows Rothko a delicate touch. Curator: Exactly. It gives an introspective approach to understand the human conditions of melancholy. Editor: This artwork certainly taught me about how vital medium is in contributing to the emotional tone and expression of artwork. Curator: Same here; it adds unexpected layer of meaning to everything I know about Rothko!