Untitled 1949

This is an untitled painting by Mark Rothko. He painted this with oil on canvas. Rothko’s choice of material is significant. Oil paint lends itself to layering and blending, allowing for the creation of blurred boundaries between the rectangular fields of color that define the composition. Look closely and you can see the subtle gradations and the ways the hues interact with each other. Rothko built up thin glazes of paint, one on top of another, to create the luminous effects you see here. The large scale of Rothko’s paintings engulfs the viewer. But it also speaks to the legacy of monumental painting, an artistic tradition rooted in the patronage of wealthy elites and religious institutions. By embracing this scale for his abstract compositions, Rothko seemed to want to democratize this tradition. Consider how the sheer labor that went into creating such a large work reflects the wider social issues of production and consumption. Rothko challenges traditional distinctions between fine art and craft, inviting us to appreciate not just the aesthetic qualities of the painting, but also the process of its making and its place within a larger cultural context.