Seated Woman, Three-quarters View to the Left, Hands on Lap 

Mark Rothko made this sketch of a Seated Woman using graphite on paper. Rothko would later become famous for his large, colorful abstract paintings, but here we see him working in a much more traditional mode. This drawing is all about line – the artist’s confident strokes building up the form of the seated woman. The varying pressure and direction of the graphite lines create shading and volume, which is particularly evident in the rendering of the dress. Rothko captures the weight and drape of the fabric with a few well-chosen marks. While seemingly simple, the quick and assured technique speaks to Rothko’s skill as a draughtsman, as well as the social context of his training. Before embracing abstraction, he honed his skills through rigorous academic study. Considering this grounding in traditional methods allows us to appreciate the artist’s later work in a new light, recognizing that even the most radical artistic statements are built upon a foundation of material understanding and technical expertise.