Untitled (woman and girl by a window) 1936 - 1937

Mark Rothko made this painting of a woman and girl by a window sometime in the mid twentieth century, and who knows what kind of paint he used—maybe oil? I really feel the awkwardness and tenderness that are captured here in the gestural strokes. The figures seem unsure, caught in a state of becoming, with each brushstroke a record of his own uncertainty. I can imagine Rothko stepping back, squinting, adding a dab of color here, scraping away a line there. The cool blues and warm oranges create a push and pull, a kind of visual vibration that resonates with the emotional tension of the scene. You can see a similar palette in Milton Avery's work, a painter who, like Rothko, was always experimenting with color and form. Painters are always looking and learning, aren't they? Each work is just a step along the path of inquiry.