Untitled (Harvard Mural sketch) 1962

This sketch for a Harvard mural is made by Mark Rothko with oil paint, and what hits me first is the sheer physicality of it. You can almost feel Rothko's hand moving, layering those reds and maroons, coaxing the colours into existence. I wonder what it was like for Rothko to stand before this canvas, wrestling with these monumental forms. I can imagine him stepping back, squinting, adding another layer, another subtle shift in tone. It’s like a conversation, a dance between the artist and the canvas. The paint isn't just lying there, it's built up, worked, and worried into place. Look at the way the brushstrokes drag and pull, leaving a trail of feeling. It's so Rothko, this reduction to these core feelings using colour and surface. We all owe so much to each other as artists, riffing off each other and the past. It’s like we're all talking in one big room. This piece, it’s not just a painting, but an invitation to feel, to question, to get lost in the ambiguity.