Study of a Head [verso] 

Curator: Here we have "Study of a Head [verso]" by Mark Rothko, executed in pencil. Editor: It's raw, almost tentative. The lines are so light, like whispers on the page. Makes you wonder what he was thinking, what he intended. It feels very private, very much like glimpsing into an artist's sketchbook, an intimate space where the artist works freely. Curator: Indeed. The use of pencil lends a provisional quality. One notes the distinct figuration—a reclining nude, seemingly observed directly, paired with an adjacent head, rendered more faintly, almost ghostlike above. This doubling creates visual tension. Editor: That doubling definitely amplifies that feeling. It's a little haunting. It also makes me think of those old master sketches—figures morphing out of one another, full of energy, nothing too polished. It's interesting how different this is from the work he's mostly known for. The famous canvases of pure color! Curator: Precisely. Rothko, while largely recognized for his abstract expressionist works, displays in sketches like this a grounding in observational practice and classical form. The lack of crispness in the line and somewhat incomplete presentation also invite speculation concerning intent. Was it for practice, part of a larger compositional strategy, or perhaps abandoned entirely? Editor: Abandoned feels too strong, it’s an ethereal piece that lives perfectly in the moment. Seeing it actually enriches how I look at his more well-known color fields. Maybe these studies aren’t just prep, but rather are vital for understanding how Rothko's works relate back to the body. Like there's always a person lurking behind the big planes of color, and how interesting is that. Curator: An intriguing interpretation. The artwork may encourage consideration that Rothko did not exist solely as a painter of blocks of color, but that he was an artist deeply engaged with representation and the human form. Editor: It makes me wish I knew where this drawing has been, what story it has to tell us. Curator: A fair point. It offers not closure, but invitation into his wider thinking about shape and surface.