Seated Woman Looking Right 

Editor: This is Mark Rothko's pencil drawing, "Seated Woman Looking Right." There isn't a date for it. I find it very gestural; it has this immediate quality like Rothko sketched it in a matter of minutes. What compositional elements jump out at you? Curator: Notice how the orientation and pressure of Rothko's pencil strokes delineate form. The angularity of the legs is implied via swift, deliberate strokes of varying intensity, providing weight while simultaneously producing a visual rhythm. What happens when we trace that rhythm throughout the composition? Editor: It is really dynamic! There’s a contrast with the head and upper body. Rothko uses a dense, darker cluster of lines, especially around the hair and arms. This focuses your eye and adds a weightiness absent in the rendering of the legs. Do you think this contrast has a purpose? Curator: Indeed. Observe the strategic deployment of line and value. How do the directional vectors converge or diverge and how do they guide the gaze? Also, it appears her arm creates a sort of halo that frames the face. Can this be a visual sign of the inner psychology of the sitter? Editor: It certainly gives her a pensive mood. Almost as if she is weighed down with something difficult she is thinking about. You know, I was ready to focus on it as just a sketch, but now it seems like Rothko had very deliberate, formal intentions. Curator: The application of the drawing, in its semiotic signification of line and form, provides a matrix of both the inner state of the sitter as well as Rothko's state of being. Thus, one may deduce that Rothko employed the medium to address internal tensions or ponder a theme of introspection through line and form. Editor: Fascinating. I really appreciate this perspective. It encourages me to see more potential for intentionality, even within pieces that appear spontaneous.