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"Doodles in a Million": How Mark Rothko wrote his magic canvases, whose genius was proven by his descendants in court
"Doodles in a Million": How Mark Rothko wrote his magic canvases, whose genius was proven by his descendants in court

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Mark Rothko and his magical canvases
Mark Rothko and his magical canvases

His paintings were called "painter's daub" and "children's scribbles." And he mixed paints in a special way with rabbit skins and applied them to the canvas layer by layer. Connoisseurs assured that in his paintings and sadness, and ecstasy, and tragedy. The genius of the abstract artist was recognized even by the American court, and as a result, the cost of these paintings reached 140 million euros.

Doodle in a Million

Markus Rothko
Markus Rothko

Whatever venerable critics and naive amateurs say about Rothko's paintings, they are recognized as brilliant creations even by the Supreme Court of America, and their value is estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars. The technique of performing unique masterpieces is very peculiar. But at the same time, Mark did not like it when he was ranked among the galaxy of abstractionists.

In search of the geographic center of Toronto …
In search of the geographic center of Toronto …

The artist said:

Verdict

Painting by Mark Rothko
Painting by Mark Rothko

No wonder they say that a true work of art can only be appreciated by a person with high intelligence. But what about an ordinary observer who has come to enjoy the beauty? Who should consider Rothko - a brilliant artist or a mediocre painter? Mark himself was tormented by this issue, selling dozens of his paintings for a pittance.

Artist Mark Rothko
Artist Mark Rothko

The trial, initiated by the artist's children, ended with a verdict on the discrepancy between the value of the paintings in the contract and their actual artistic value. The experts who spoke at the trial in defense of the master's creativity were unanimous in their opinion. Several hundred paintings were returned to Rothko's heirs, and his name was included in the top ten most talented artists of the twentieth century. The cost of his work was simply cosmic.

From realism to abstraction

Painting by Mark Rothko
Painting by Mark Rothko

Markus was born into a Jewish Rotkowicz family who emigrated from Russia to the United States. The young man was studying at Yale University when the artist woke up in him. His first works were realistic, later he began to write plots on the topic of ancient Greek myths. At the New York School of Design, where the young talent entered, he was influenced by supporters of surrealism and cubism. It was to this period of Mark's creative activity that his first expressive canvases belong, about which critics of that time spoke very positively.

One of the paintings by Mark Rothko
One of the paintings by Mark Rothko

Success inspired the young man, but he could not fully devote himself to creativity. It was necessary to earn a living, especially since Rotkovich had a beloved girlfriend, a master of jewelry design named Edith Sugar. Soon, a couple of talents were united by marriage. And in 1933, the first solo exhibition of the abstractionist was held in Portland. Then he still signed pictures as Markus Rotkovich. A few years later, the artist took a pseudonym, which brought him tremendous success. The world recognized the abstract expressionist Mark Rothko.

The magic of paints

Painting by Mark Rothko
Painting by Mark Rothko

In the early 1930s, Mark Rothko became a member of the US Artists' Union and founded the group "The Ten", whose members opposed American painting to traditional painting. Rothko exhibited his works more and more often, and soon people on other continents started talking about his skill with enthusiasm. His style began to change, and then the artist completely departed from objectivity to color, ceasing to give names to the subjects of his work.

Contemplation of the painting by Mark Rothko
Contemplation of the painting by Mark Rothko

During this period, he created fourteen paintings for the Houston Church Chapel, which are considered the pinnacle of his artistic skill. Mark Rothko recalled this cycle of canvases very enthusiastically and dreamed that the viewer would feel the same bright parallel worlds as the author who created these divine masterpieces. No wonder, apparently, many visitors to the church shed tears in front of these paintings.

Painting "Black on Brown"
Painting "Black on Brown"

The ability to create huge canvases with planes of bright color, as if floating in space, brought the artist great popularity. He was even included in the list of guests of honor at Kennedy's inauguration. But after 1961, an incident occurred, after which the artist stopped communicating with the main family of America. The president's sister decided to decorate the interior of her mansion with one of Rothko's works. The author was deeply outraged by the fact that his canvases are considered as decoration.

Red on white

“Vladimir Umanets'12. A potential piece of yellowness”?
“Vladimir Umanets'12. A potential piece of yellowness”?

They say that all of Mark's paintings have magical properties - they make you think, but more often for some reason cause pain and anxiety. This is probably why, in the fall of 2012, an incident occurred in the Tate Modern in London, which led to the destruction of one of the priceless paintings. The Polish artist, who had been looking at Rothko's painting for a long time, suddenly made an inscription on it with a black felt-tip pen. The storm of emotions caused by "Orange, Red, Yellow" cost the vandal two years in prison, and it took a long year and a half to restore the work of art.

Canvas from the collection of the Museum of Modern Art of San Francisco
Canvas from the collection of the Museum of Modern Art of San Francisco
Artist Mark Rothko
Artist Mark Rothko

The master painted the last work in scarlet colors. Then he already knew about his incurable illness and was addicted to alcohol and antidepressants. In addition, Rothko was in a severe mental crisis due to a divorce from his wife. In February 1970, after opening the studio, an assistant found the teacher dead on a white floor in a pool of blood. The artist committed suicide. A few years later, the play “Red” was written about the life and work of Mark Rothko, which had the same tremendous success as the canvases of the great master.

BONUS

Grave of Mark Rothko
Grave of Mark Rothko

And today, the controversy around such a famous name as Jackson Pollock, whose paintings are beyond explainable.

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