Untitled 1969

This painting, an Untitled work by Mark Rothko, is made up of dreamy hues of pink, cream, and brown. The marks are laid down with a soft touch, like a whisper across the canvas. Up close, you can see the paint isn’t too thick, but the layers build up a kind of hazy depth. I love how the colors bleed into each other, creating a surface that feels both tender and monumental. There is a horizontal division that is a crucial part of the composition. The upper register feels lighter in tone, the brushstrokes more agitated. Lower down the surface is calmer, denser, more resolved. The colour palette is restrained but, in a way, everything is here! Rothko's approach reminds me of Agnes Martin; both artists explore the subtle power of color and form to evoke emotion. But where Martin has a kind of relentless, all-over consistency, Rothko is more of a romantic; his paintings embrace the unresolved, the ambiguous, and the deeply felt.