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Mark Rothko’s Untitled (Black on Grey) Analysis ARTH207 - Prof. Galvin May 25th, 2017

Figure 1: Untitled (Black on Grey). Art is an outlet for the artist – it is the artist’s way of expressing thoughts, ideas, and emotions, and Mark Rothko is no different. He painted in order to express himself through art. His conscious and deliberate attitude when it came to creating any of his works truly separates his last work from anything else in his career. Instigated by his depression, Mark Rothko created Untitled (Black on Grey); through this painting, he utilized attributes such as: composition (juxtaposition, stabilized rectangles, and a frame), use of color – or lack thereof, and an acrylic medium to convey the melancholy of the piece. Rothko was an artist thrown into the expanding city of New York when he sought refuge in America in 1913. It wasn’t until the mid-19th century however that he developed his style and

became increasingly popular. The New York arts scene during the 1940’s through 1960’s was on the up-rise, as due to the post-world wars’ boosted economy. As “Fortune pointed out, there was now ‘a semi-satiety of tangible luxury goods: art stands out as one of the most attractive remaining targets for excess cash.”1 The New York School of Art, or the Abstract Expressionism Movement, quickly became the center of attention in the art world2 – right in the middle of a prosperous New York as the art focus shifted to the US. With the affluence of the 1950’s for those in the middle and upper class3, as well as international acclaim, various artists such as Rothko quickly became popular. Many artists had used influences from other art movements to create new and more abstracted art, as an example, “Gorky and Rothko shared an interest in European surrealism as evidence by the biomorphic forms populating their paintings from the early 1940’s. For Rothko, these forms would ultimately give way to the floating zones of color.”4 This interest in zones of color became what is known as Color Field. Through Color Field, Rothko became interested in experimenting with the way color affects emotions. Through his early career, his paintings were vibrant and he began to develop blocks of color and the blurring between the hues. He was inclined towards more self-reflective, cerebral focus with open plots of color, seeking to “achieve the ‘sublime’ rather than the ‘beautiful,’”5 and focusing more and more on how the viewer can personally experience his

1 Breslin, James E. Mark Rothko: A Biography. London: The University of Chicago Press, 341. 2 Spivey, Dr. Virginia. "Abstract Expressionism, an Introduction." Khan Academy. Accessed May 4, 2017. 3 Galbraith, John Kenneth. The affluent society. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1998, 179. 4 Kedmey, Karen, “Mark Rothko | MoMA.” The Museum of Modern Art, originally published 1999. Accessed May 2nd, 2017. https://www.moma.org/artists/5047.

5 Paul, Stella. "Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: Abstract Expressionism." The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Published October 2004. Accessed May 2, 2017.

artwork off a museum wall. For a while Mark Rothko had painted with bright and highly saturated colors, but after 1957 the painter started to delve deeper into darker and darker images as his depression further consumed him. Through Mark Rothko’s words, “Art sank into melancholy,”6 and his paintings became undeniable interpretations of his state of mind. Rothko’s Untitled (Black on Grey) painting is the last piece he created before he his depression consumed him into suicide. Whether the artist intended this piece to be his last painting or not, this artwork undeniably serves as a window into Rothko’s lapsing mental state – almost as if his last painting was a comment on his own suicide. One of the clearest distinctions between his earlier works and his last painting is that almost any association with his earlier works in his career with regards to color pallet is lost. Some examples of the painter’s brighter, more saturated, earlier works can be seen with Number 12 in 1951, 10 in ’50, and No. 13 (White, Red on Yellow) in ‘587. Their vivid color pallets construct their exuberant natures. This inviting and spirited energy can be clearly felt with Number 12, as the three main colors of purple, orange, and yellow are highly saturated and contrasting; the painting energizes the eye and has it bounce throughout the composition. However, when these paintings are compared with Untitled (Black on Grey), created in 1969, it is evident that that this painting is entirely different. The artwork itself is nearly greyscale in its entirety, and as a whole seems incredibly dead. This is a piece of work that aims to alienate itself from the world and to retreat. The painting consists of a clear horizontal line that divides the top section, a smooth application of black, from the bottom section, containing varied brushstrokes and washed-out greys that are sporadically applied. This clear

6 Breslin, James E. Mark Rothko: A Biography. London: The University of Chicago Press, 475. 7 Ibid. 253.

juxtaposition between this impenetrable black and more energetic and welcoming greys is startling, and with the darkness on top, it produces an exceedingly forlorn feeling. As Mark Rothko once stated, “there is only one thing I fear in life, my friend; one day, the black will swallow the red,”8 and his Untitled (Black on Grey) is the end; it is the red, the love of life, that was utterly overwhelmed by the black, an all-consuming depression. The artist’s previous works contain vibrant hues, and the fact that this piece lacks any high-saturated colors speaks to his declining mental state. The painting’s creation acts as the voice of a man that is burdened by an impervious dark force – unrelenting melancholic pressure of depression that drains the color, and consequently life, away. Rothko portrays this somber feeling by placing the expanse of black over the more luminous, diverse, and harmonious field of greys, creating an incredibly top-heavy piece of work. Even though the black covers just as much canvas space as the greys, by having the expanse of black over the lighter values it conveys the feeling of an intense amount of pressure and darkness weighing down upon the lower half. The artwork sparks an agitating tension through the top-heavy juxtaposition, and this melancholic atmosphere is additionally supported by Rothko’s treatment of the rectangles. Rothko’s accuracy in conveying the extreme unrelenting pressure of depression is successful, and the painter supports this feeling by grounding his rectangles. A more common characteristic in Rothko’s works are the blurred edges between the colors that form his ‘floating rectangles’; these attributes can be seen with the Number 12 and Number 10 paintings, both having distinct colors that merge between themselves – as well as, the blurred rectangles never touch the edge of the canvases. However, when considering Untitled (Black on Grey), not only

8 Nodelman, Sheldon. Rothko Chapel Paintings: origin, structure, meaning. Austin: University of Texas Press, 133.

do both rectangles stretch across to the border, but they also are kept separate. Thus, there is no typical sense of Rothko’s floating rectangles. Not only do the fields of color not float, but they also do not mix. Moreover, the line between the black and the grey is not entirely crisp, but there is decidedly no sense of blurring between the two. With Rothko’s other works, there is a lively and sporadic nature to his marks when blurring the edges of his color blocks, but with Untitled (Black on Grey), the rectangles are separated and tied down to the edges. It is as though there is no energy – no noise or excitement from the shifts and strokes of the colors. Rothko in the end wanted to perfectly portray the emptiness of depression, as through his own words, “silence is so accurate,”9 and that’s what his painting is: troubling silence; the static, the loss of color, the loss of energy and life - death. The lacking ‘floating rectangle’ characteristics go directly against a large majority of Rothko’s works, creating an even larger divide between his earlier works and his last one. Another aspect of Rothko’s Untitled (Black on Grey) painting that stands out is the thin, white border framing the entire canvas. Not only has Rothko gone against his stylistic conventions by stabilizing the rectangles, but he has also implemented “white margins [that] frame the image, in the work of a painter who had once equated frames with coffins.”10 The thin border around the painting furthers the portrayal of how Rothko was feeling when he had created his last piece before he committed suicide. Essentially, what this white border accomplishes is that it restricts the painting’s ability to feel larger than the canvas itself, disallowing the painting to flow outward onto the wall. Rothko has always voiced against borders, as without one, a painting can influence the viewers on a more intimate level. Without a frame, the ambience of an artwork can go past the painting itself, as most Color Field painters believe. Rothko’s choice in 9 Breslin, James E. Mark Rothko: A Biography. London: The University of Chicago Press, 206. 10 Ibid. 527.

adding a frame is a clear decision to cause alienation between the audience and the painting. Regardless of its significant size (that being 80in x 69in), the white border evidently causes isolation as it places a wall between the viewers and the content within. However, not only does the margin create a divide between the viewer and the artwork, but it additionally flattens the piece. As the Tate Museum states, “in marked contrast, the white surrounding of the Black on Grey painting sharply demarcates the painted surface and collapses the pictorial space into a much flatter picture plane.”11 The white of the frame is brought forward, while everything else inside of it is pushed back all as one entity. Thus, the heavy pressure of the piece is entirely sealed off, creating more of a self-contained and closed off depressive environment, rather than something that has no limits or restrictions to be felt by all who look upon it. The frame acts as a pictorial form of isolation. Rothko pushes this idea of pure isolation even through his use of materials. Additional discrepancies between the majority of Rothko’s works and his last piece are created by his changed materials when creating Untitled (Black on Grey). In his previous paintings, “Rothko had used a mixture of rabbit-skin glue and pigment to douse his canvases in a first layer of color. The Black on Grey painting, however, [was] primed with white gesso which shows through in various areas, contravening any illusion of pictorial depth.”12 Rothko had purposefully bordered off the painting to cause isolation and flatness, and he has additionally worked towards flattening the piece through the application of gesso. No longer are there any of the background stroke variations usually present in his other pieces. This lack of differences throughout the overall piece flattens and starkly disconnects the artwork with the viewer. Moreover, Rothko refused “the glamor and luminosity of oils altogether, using acrylics which, since they do not reflect light 11 The Tate Museum. "Room 9: Black on Gray." Accessed April 9, 2017. 12 Ibid.

as oils do, appear flat and impenetrable.”13 Through his use of acrylics in this painting, it furthers the disconnected and flattening feel, and thus the isolation of the piece. Acknowledging how the darkness presented on the top half of the composition gives an unsettling and depressive impression, the acrylic medium instigates this disposition. Oil is a reflective medium and can detract away from the feeling Rothko wishes to convey in this painting; acrylic is matte and can intensify the sensation of a dark void pressing down upon the grey. The painting does not transcend the canvas, it does not have depth or blending of colors, and it does not connect with the viewer on a personal level. Even though this painting is “in scale with a viewer’s body, [the application] has a disembodying effect.”14 Rothko aimed to convey the feeling of pure isolative depression. Untitled (Black on Grey) “is strongly emotional: it quite openly expresses the urge to withdraw, to retreat, to ‘rock shut as a shell.’ It is not just that these paintings comment on Rothko’s death; his suicide commented on this painting: these feelings Rothko was asserting, are real.” Through all of this, Rothko had created his last piece with the intention to show the world his consuming mental state. He wanted to express the dull darkness of an engrossing depression. Mark Rothko’s Untitled (Black on Grey) painting was his suicide note – it was his last expression before he couldn’t handle the pressure of the darkness any longer. Rothko created Untitled (Black on Grey) in order to express what he was consumed with. The artist utilized compositional methods of juxtaposition, stabilized rectangles, and a frame, the removal of color, and an acrylic medium to support his grim comment towards what life had become – a silent monotony gripped by depression. Even though Mark Rothko took his life within the year of this

13 Breslin, James E. Mark Rothko: A Biography. London: The University of Chicago Press, 527.

14 Schjeldahl, Peter. "The Dark Final Years of Mark Rothko The Pace gallery shows the Abstract Expressionist’s late work, in which he abandoned high-keyed colors." The New Yorker. Accessed May 3, 2017.

painting’s completion, his work and legacy of what he had attributed to color field and modern art as a whole continues to inspire.

Bibliography Blessing, Jennifer. "Mark Rothko Untitled (Black on Gray)." Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Breslin, James E. Mark Rothko: A Biography. London: The University of Chicago Press, 1993.

Galbraith, John Kenneth. The affluent society. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1998. Kedmey, Karen, “Mark Rothko | MoMA.” The Museum of Modern Art, originally published 1999. Accessed May 2nd, 2017. https://www.moma.org/artists/5047. Kosoi, Natalie. "Nothingness Made Visible: The Case of Rothko's Paintings." Art Journal 64, no. 2 (Summer, 2005): 20-31. JSTOR (10.2307/20068380). http://0www.jstor.org.library.scad.edu/stable/20068380. Nodelman, Sheldon. The Rothko Chapel Paintings: origins, structure, meaning. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1997. Paul, Stella. "Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: Abstract Expressionism." The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Published October 2004. Accessed May 2, 2017. Pitman, Alexandra. "Mark Rothko (1903–1970) - Psychiatry In Pictures." The British Journal of Psychiatry 193, no. 6 (November 2008): 484. Polcari, Stephen. "Mark Rothko: Heritage, Environment, and Tradition." Smithsonian Studies in American Art Smithsonian Studies in American Art 2, no. 2 (Spring, 1988): 32-63. JSTOR, The University of Chicago Press Journals. http://0-

www.jstor.org.library.scad.edu/stable/3108950. Rothko, Mark. No. 13 (White, Red on Yellow). 1958. Oil and acrylic with powdered pigments on canvas, (241.9 × 206.7 cm). Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Web. 5 May 2017. Rothko, Mark. Number 10. 1950. Oil on canvas, (229.6 x 145 cm). Floor 5, Collection Galleries, Gallery 12. The Met. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Web. 5 May 2017. Rothko, Mark. Number 12. 1951. Oil on canvas, (232.4 x 181.3 cm). Mark Rothko: A Bibliography by James E.B. Breslin. April 20th, 2017. Rothko, Mark. Untitled (Black on Grey) 1969, 1969. Acrylic on canvas, Length at CB ((a) to waist): 80.0in (203.3cm) Length at CB (b): 69.1in (175.5cm). National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Accessed April 20th, 2017. Schjeldahl, Peter. "The Dark Final Years of Mark Rothko The Pace gallery shows the Abstract Expressionist’s late work, in which he abandoned high-keyed colors." The New Yorker. Accessed May 3, 2017. Spivey, Dr. Virginia. "Abstract Expressionism, an Introduction." Khan Academy. Accessed May 4, 2017. The Tate Museum. "Room 9: Black on Gray." Accessed April 9, 2017. http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/exhibition/rothko/room-guide/room-9-black-on-gray....