Episode 140: Rothko in Florence - The Liberation of Colour
Mark Rothko - Latvia 1903 - United States of America 1970
Welcome to Episode #140:
In Italy, Mark Rothko (1903-1970) found what he was looking for. On a long voyage in Europe in 1950 with his wife, Rothko found himself in Florence, in the cradle of the Italian Renaissance - Today I share the story about this encounter and the shift in perspective that occurred for his painting and his development as an artist, and the places in Italy that opened a new dialogue, a liberation of colour.
Mark Rothko's art is currently on show at the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence. There are three site specific places to see this exhibition including the Laurentian Library (Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana) and the Museum of San Marco (Museo di San Marco) in Florence.
Mark Rothko is most known for his colour field paintings, the great abstract artworks that have become rather iconic. Today I share about his life, the influence of Italy, and the experience of seeing a Rothko artwork in person and why you should go if you can!
Mark Rothko @ Palazzo Strozzi
“The large paintings envelop the viewer and invite him or her in, it is an invitation to a self contained world where one can lose oneself and perhaps in the process find oneself. And for all their grandest of scale it is an intimate experience, a world unique to that particular encounter” - Christopher Rothko, Mark Rothko and the Inner World
Photo Credit - Instagram (Standard Advisory)
Shownotes:
Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi Florence
Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana - Medici Library Florence
Visit Museo di San Marco in Florence
Untitled 1957 #20 - National Gallery Collection Australia
These two paintings by Mark Rothko reside in the National Gallery of Australia - I visit them regularly just to connect with colour and have an experience of purity and awe. I have loved them for many years now.
Mark Rothko - Multiform, 1948 National Gallery Australia Collection