Landscape with Trees and Hills [recto] c. 1929

Mark Rothko created "Landscape with Trees and Hills" using watercolor on paper. Rothko, born in Latvia and an immigrant to the United States, grappled with questions of identity and belonging. This early landscape departs from traditional representation, as Rothko begins to dissolve the specificity of place, hinting at the emotional terrain he would later explore in his abstract expressionist works. The washes of color evoke a sense of quiet melancholy. The scene appears both inviting and remote, mirroring Rothko’s own search for connection and meaning in a rapidly changing world. Rothko once said, "I'm not interested in relationships of color or form or anything else. I'm interested only in expressing basic human emotions — tragedy, ecstasy, doom." This landscape, while seemingly serene, hints at the deeper emotional currents that would define his career. It is a poignant reflection on the search for stability in an unstable world.