1957, Mark Rothko, Pink and White over Red -- Stanford University Museums (Palo Alto)
From the museum label: Rothko marked 1957 "the year the dark paintings began," a shift largely connected with his Seagram installation, originally intended for the Four Seasons restaurant in New York City. This was Rothko's first public commission, but before he received it at the end of that year, he had already begun to paint on an unprecedented scale Pink and White over Red (1957) is one of several works created to visually envelop the viewer by filling their entire field of vision. Its horizontal orientation was a departure for Rothko and adds to its formidable presence and sense of expansiveness. While hardly dark, its tones are rich and saturated, and the effect of the colors is more cumulative than striking. The painting, so alluring in its own right, was a critical stepping stone in Rothko's stylistic development to a more meditative style, inviting the viewer to slow down their interaction with the work and drink it in more deeply.
1957, Mark Rothko, Pink and White over Red -- Stanford University Museums (Palo Alto)
From the museum label: Rothko marked 1957 "the year the dark paintings began," a shift largely connected with his Seagram installation, originally intended for the Four Seasons restaurant in New York City. This was Rothko's first public commission, but before he received it at the end of that year, he had already begun to paint on an unprecedented scale Pink and White over Red (1957) is one of several works created to visually envelop the viewer by filling their entire field of vision. Its horizontal orientation was a departure for Rothko and adds to its formidable presence and sense of expansiveness. While hardly dark, its tones are rich and saturated, and the effect of the colors is more cumulative than striking. The painting, so alluring in its own right, was a critical stepping stone in Rothko's stylistic development to a more meditative style, inviting the viewer to slow down their interaction with the work and drink it in more deeply.