Landscape with Trees 

Mark Rothko's ink drawing, Landscape with Trees, presents us with a deceptively simple scene, yet its creation is anything but straightforward. Born in Latvia in 1903 and later immigrating to the United States, Rothko’s personal history is deeply entwined with the turbulent events of the 20th century, including the rise of totalitarianism and the trauma of the Holocaust. This landscape, with its bare, almost skeletal trees, invites us to consider the human relationship with nature and mortality. Rothko once said, "I'm not interested in the relationship of color or form or anything else. I'm interested only in expressing basic human emotions: tragedy, ecstasy, doom." In this light, the starkness of the landscape could be interpreted as a reflection of loss and existential questioning. Rothko challenges us to look beyond the surface, to find meaning in the emotional resonance of the work, rather than in its representational accuracy. It is less a picture of trees, than a picture of feelings.