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Mark Rothko: Toward Clarity
A pioneering exploration of Rothko’s deep and sustained engagement with the history of art
While Mark Rothko (1903–1970) has long been considered a preeminent figure in 20th-century art, few publications have examined his work within the broader context of Western art, even though Rothko himself continuously sought it out as inspiration. Rothko had a profound interest in history and art history—including Greek and Roman mythology, Egyptian fables, Byzantine and early Italian gold-ground paintings, and masterworks of the Renaissance and Dutch Golden Age. He first traveled to Europe in 1950, starting in Paris and winding through Venice, Arezzo, Siena, Florence, and Rome; along the way, he admired frescoes by Fra Angelico and architecture by Michelangelo.
This beautiful book examines the influence of the artist’s travels on his oeuvre. It presents Rothko’s engagement with important classical and Old Master works, highlighting older techniques and ideas that the artist may have sought to emulate. Works representative of Rothko’s entire corpus are beautifully illustrated with full-page color plates. The book also contains writings by the artist—selected for publication by his son—that document his appreciation of art history in his own words.
Distributed for the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna
Exhibition Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna
(03/12/19–06/30/19)
While Mark Rothko (1903–1970) has long been considered a preeminent figure in 20th-century art, few publications have examined his work within the broader context of Western art, even though Rothko himself continuously sought it out as inspiration. Rothko had a profound interest in history and art history—including Greek and Roman mythology, Egyptian fables, Byzantine and early Italian gold-ground paintings, and masterworks of the Renaissance and Dutch Golden Age. He first traveled to Europe in 1950, starting in Paris and winding through Venice, Arezzo, Siena, Florence, and Rome; along the way, he admired frescoes by Fra Angelico and architecture by Michelangelo.
This beautiful book examines the influence of the artist’s travels on his oeuvre. It presents Rothko’s engagement with important classical and Old Master works, highlighting older techniques and ideas that the artist may have sought to emulate. Works representative of Rothko’s entire corpus are beautifully illustrated with full-page color plates. The book also contains writings by the artist—selected for publication by his son—that document his appreciation of art history in his own words.
Distributed for the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna
Exhibition Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna
(03/12/19–06/30/19)
- GenresArt
184 pages, Hardcover
First published May 21, 2019
18 people want to read
About the author
Jasper Sharp
22 books9 followersJasper Sharp was born in and raised in the rural idyll of Devon, England, though has subsequently gone on to live in Montreal, Amsterdam, Finland, and Tokyo and has travelled extensively over four different continents. As well as curating the Japanese program of London's Raindance Film Festival, his writings on film have appeared in publications all over the world, from the US to Russia to Taiwan, including Variety, SFX, Film International and 3d World. He has also worked as a computer programmer on the Douglas Adams game Starship Titanic.
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