Untitled
c. 1944
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
watercolor, gouache, and brush and black ink on wove paper
Dimensions
overall: 78.1 x 56.3 cm (30 3/4 x 22 3/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.
Accession Number
1986.43.216
Art Historical Context
Mark Rothko's *Untitled* (c. 1944) offers a captivating glimpse into the artist's early experimentation during a pivotal moment in his career. Created on wove paper using watercolor, gouache, brush and black ink, large-scale drawing—measuring 78.1 x 56.3 cm—stands out for its intimate yet expansive format. At the National Gallery of Art, reflects Rothko's transition in the 1940s from figurative scenes influenced by surrealism toward the abstract, emotive forms that would define his later masterpieces. The mixed media technique highlights Rothko's masterful handling of fluid pigments: watercol...
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...