Woman Reading c. 1933

Mark Rothko's "Woman Reading" emerges in strokes of muted color and quiet contemplation. It's like watching a memory unfold. You can imagine Rothko wrestling with the paint, coaxing it into form, adding and subtracting until a feeling, an impression, begins to glow from the canvas. I can’t help but think about him at the easel, layering those browns, pinks, and greens. It is a scene of intimacy, and I wonder, what was he thinking about while he painted? Her face is obscured, yet the pose, her hands gently holding the book, speaks of focus, quietude. There is such tenderness in the way Rothko renders this moment. Painters are always in conversation, each brushstroke a response to what has come before. Like Bonnard, he knew how to imbue everyday scenes with poetic emotion. Rothko’s reading woman holds a space for openness, where feelings resonate beyond words.