He was one of the most famous and successful artists of his time, but Mark Rothko always felt like an outsider. This introspective artist had a unique way of looking at the world, and his paintings reflect his personal struggles and innermost thoughts. Although he achieved great success during his life, Rothko never stopped searching for meaning in his work. This is a fascinating glimpse into the mind of an enigmatic artist.
We are glad to present you the most inspiring quotes from Mark Rothko, and much more.
Summary
- About Mark Rothko
- Inspiring Phrases From Mark Rothko
- Various Statements From Mark Rothko
- More Phrases From Mark Rothko
- Deeper Quotes From Mark Rothko
- Amazing Thoughts From Mark Rothko
About Mark Rothko
Inspiring Phrases From Mark Rothko
Look, it’s my misery that I have to paint this kind of painting, it’s your misery that you have to love it, and the price of the misery is thirteen hundred and fifty dollars. — Mark Rothko
I don’t express myself in my paintings. I express my not–self. — Mark Rothko
Art to me is an anecdote of the spirit, and the only means of making concrete the purpose of its varied quickness and stillness. — Mark Rothko
That is why we profess a spiritual kinship with primitive and archaic art. — Mark Rothko
The people that weep before my paintings are having the same religious experience that I had when I painted it. — Mark Rothko
To me art is an adventure into an unknown world, which can be explored only by those willing to take the risk. — Mark Rothko
It is really a matter of ending this silence and solitude, of breathing and stretching one’s arms again. — Mark Rothko
Various Statements From Mark Rothko
While the authority of the doctor or plumber is never questioned, everyone deems himself a good judge and an adequate arbiter of what a work of art should be and how it should be done. — Mark Rothko
Pictures must be miraculous. — Mark Rothko
Many of those who are driven to this life are desperately searching for those pockets of silence where we can root and grow. — Mark Rothko
I am) dealing not with the particular anecdote, but rather with the Spirit of Myth, which is generic to all myths at all times. — Mark Rothko
Art to me is an anecdote of the spirit. — Mark Rothko
For, while the authority of the doctor or plumber is never questioned, everyone deems himself a good judge and an adequate arbiter of what a work of art should be and how it should be done. — Mark Rothko
We assert that the subject is crucial and only that subject matter is valid which is tragic and timeless. — Mark Rothko
More Phrases From Mark Rothko
The picture must be… a revelation, an unexpected and unprecedented resolution of an eternally familiar need. — Mark Rothko
You’ve got sadness in you, I’ve got sadness in me–and my works of art are places where the two sadnesses can meet, and therefore both of us need to feel less sad. — Mark Rothko
I’m not an abstractionist… I’m not interested in relationships of colour or form or anything else. — Mark Rothko
I’m interested only in expressing basic human emotions. And the fact that a lot of people break down and cry when confronted with my pictures shows that I can communicate these basic human emotions. — Mark Rothko
There is only one thing I fear in life, my friend: One day, the black will swallow the red. — Mark Rothko
And last, it may be worthwhile trying to hang something beyond the partial wall because some of the pictures do very well in a confined space. — Mark Rothko
I’m not an abstractionist. I’m not interested in the relationship of color or form or anything else. I’m interested only in expressing basic human emotions: tragedy, ecstasy, doom, and so on. — Mark Rothko
Redundant Thematics
In Mark Rothko Statements
Deeper Quotes From Mark Rothko
There is no such thing as good painting about nothing. — Mark Rothko
A painting is not a picture of an experience, but is the experience. — Mark Rothko
This world of the imagination is fancy–free and violently opposed to common sense. — Mark Rothko
I also hang the pictures low rather than high, and particularly in the case of the largest ones, often as close to the floor as is feasible, for that is the way they are painted. — Mark Rothko
There is more power in telling little than in telling all. — Mark Rothko
You think my paintings are calm, like windows in some cathedral? You should look again. I’m the most violent of all the American painters. Behind those colours there hides the final cataclysm. — Mark Rothko
The abstract artist has given material existence to many unseen worlds and tempi. — Mark Rothko
Amazing Thoughts From Mark Rothko
If our titles recall the known myths of antiquity, we have used them again because they are the eternal symbols upon which we must fall back to express basic psychological ideas. — Mark Rothko
I am here to make you think. . . . I am not here to make pretty pictures! — Mark Rothko
If you are only moved by color relationships, you are missing the point. I am interested in expressing the big emotions–tragedy, ecstasy, doom. — Mark Rothko
The artist invites the spectator to take a journey within the realm of the canvas… Without taking the journey, the spectator has really missed the essential experience of the picture. — Mark Rothko
Small pictures since the Renaissance are like novels; large pictures are like dramas in which one participates in a direct way. — Mark Rothko
The reason for my painting large canvases is that I want to be intimate and human. — Mark Rothko
Without monsters and gods, art cannot enact a drama. — Mark Rothko
MARK ROTHKO Quotes Take Away
Mark Rothko’s paintings are awe-inspiring, and his words of wisdom on art are no less profound. We hope you’ve enjoyed this collection of quotes from the master artist and that they have inspired you to create your own masterpiece. If you’re looking for more inspiration, be sure to check out our courses. We offer a variety of online classes that will help you learn new techniques and develop your artistic skills. With practice and perseverance, you can achieve anything – including creating beautiful works of art like Mark Rothko.