Seated Female Nude, Half-Length, Arms Folded, Right Hand Holding Left Elbow
1901 to 1925
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
pen and black ink on wove paper
Dimensions
overall: 27.8 x 21.5 cm (10 15/16 x 8 7/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.
Accession Number
1986.56.367
Art Historical Context
In the quiet intimacy of this early drawing, *Seated Female Nude, Half-Length, Arms Folded, Right Hand Holding Elbow*, Mark Rothko a moment of poised vulnerability. Created between 1901 and 1925—during the artist's formative years before his rise as a pioneer of abstract expressionism—this pen and black ink work on wove paper measures a modest 27.8 x 21.5 cm. The smooth texture of wove paper allowed Rothko to render precise lines, highlighting his technical skill in academic figure studies, a stark contrast to the vast, color-drenched canvases he would later produce. The half-length compositi...
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...