No. 2
1947
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 145.4 x 112.2 cm (57 1/4 x 44 3/16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CMC
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.
Accession Number
1986.43.131
Art Historical Context
Mark Rothko's *No. 2* (1947), an oil on canvas measuring 145.4 x 112.2 cm, the artist's pivotal shift toward abstraction during the postwar era. Created at a time when Rothko was evolving from surrealist influences toward his signature color field style, this work exemplifies the raw emotional power of Abstract Expressionism. The large-scale canvas invites viewers into a contemplative space, where Rothko's masterful layering of thin oil glazes builds luminous depth, blurring edges to evoke transcendent moods rather than literal forms. As one of the New York School's luminaries, Rothko sought ...
About the Artist
Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko (born Marcus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz, September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970) stands as one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century American art and a central pioneer of Abstract Expressionism. Born into a Jewish family in Dvinsk (now Daugavpils, Latvia), then part of the Russian Empire, Rothko's early life was marked by the fear and persecution faced by Jews in Tsarist Rus...