Seated Woman in Robe, Arms Crossed 

This is a pencil drawing on paper of a ‘Seated Woman in Robe, Arms Crossed’ by Mark Rothko. The composition presents a figure, seemingly floating in the pictorial space. The woman's form is rendered with sparse lines, emphasizing an economy of means, which gives the drawing a sense of incompleteness and openness. Rothko’s sketch destabilizes traditional representation. The robes around her are not solid forms but rather outlines that suggest shape and volume without fully defining them. The negative space around the figure becomes as important as the drawn lines, blurring the boundaries between figure and ground. This interplay of line and space hints at a semiotic system, where the sign—the drawn line—only partially represents the signified—the woman in robe—inviting viewers to complete the image in their minds. The sketch is less about depicting a physical reality and more about capturing an emotional or psychological state, blurring the line between inner experience and outward form.