Minna [or] The Blue Dress c. 1932

Mark Rothko created this oil painting titled "Minna [or] The Blue Dress", depicting a woman in profile, seated in a chair. The dress, rendered in thick strokes of blue, dominates our visual field, evoking a sense of calm and introspection. The color blue, laden with symbolism, has traversed through art history. Think of the Virgin Mary’s robes in Renaissance paintings, a symbol of purity and divinity. Blue has been associated with melancholy and the melancholic temperament since ancient times. It appears in Picasso’s Blue Period to convey intense emotional states. Here, the blue dress may be understood through these many layers of meaning, signifying the sitter's emotional state. Consider how color engages viewers on a deep, subconscious level. The emotional power embedded in the blue echoes across time, and its cyclical progression resurfaces, evolves, and takes on new meanings in different historical contexts.