Yellow band 1956

Mark Rothko made this painting, "Yellow Band," with oil on canvas. I can see the brushstrokes, soft and hazy. He must have worked slowly, coaxing the colors out, one layer at a time. I can imagine Rothko standing in front of the canvas, considering how each color affects the others, how the paint sits on the surface. That yellow band is like a burst of light, pushing against the red. It has a kind of glow! It’s not just about color, but the density of the paint itself – thick in some places, thinner in others, creating a sense of depth and vibration. Rothko was really in conversation with other artists like Barnett Newman or Clyfford Still, all trying to push painting to its limits. It’s like they’re asking: what can color alone convey? It's this kind of quiet revolution, about stripping things down to their essence, trusting that something powerful will emerge. We never really know what a work of art is *supposed* to mean. But we know a painting is good when we feel something when we look at it.