Reclining Female Nude 

Curator: Ah, yes, here we have an ink drawing titled "Reclining Female Nude". The work is attributed to Mark Rothko. Editor: It’s immediately striking how languid and relaxed she seems, there is also some raw and stark sense to her nude state due to the ink drawing, almost as if she doesn't need any frills around herself. Curator: Absolutely, and observe the economical line work; the ink flows with confidence, capturing the essence of the pose, as well as contour of her body in the space of the composition. Rothko has focused on a pure, honest portrayal, it looks that there are a few quick pen sketches, nothing elaborate. Editor: It’s funny because later he is mostly known for color fields; it makes you wonder if Rothko still tried to connect with the figurative here, if there’s some sense of an underlying form, of course the composition, he wanted to eventually release it as a sense of pure emotion like colors, not unlike those female forms! What do you think about her gaze, and if the downward gaze of her face indicates that, the pose seems more than just a physical one, doesn't it? Curator: Indeed. The inward gaze suggests introspection. The semiotics here point towards a moment of personal reflection, perhaps melancholy. And while Rothko later moved toward abstraction, these earlier works reveal his foundation in the study of form, this figure acts more as a container of sorts. Look at the line density on the lower part and arms that add dimension to the two-dimensional plane that provides the spatial foundation of the pose. It reminds us how grounded the Abstract Expressionists were in traditional techniques. Editor: A fleeting moment, beautifully immortalized in ink. Almost like an early attempt to capture the depth of emotion with lines, much like he tried later to convey it through colors in an undefined area of space. Curator: Yes, she’s resting… just like how these emotions finally come to peace inside of a canvas.