Rothko in Florence
An unmissable exhibition dedicated to the great American artist Mark Rothko, exploring the evolution of his art, from his early figurative works, in dialogue with Expressionism and Surrealism, to the celebrated abstract canvases of the 1950s and 1960s.
The exhibit explores also his connection to the Italian artistic tradition.
On display an extraordinary selection of works, including large paintings never before exhibited in Italy, from prestigious private collections and international museums such as MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Tate in London, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington.
Rothko is known for his color field paintings, created between 1949 and 1970. These rectangular paintings, where the artist uses a single color or a very narrow palette, trace back to the expressive movement that developed in the United States after World War II, whose leading exponents included artists such as Jackson Pollock, Philip Guston, Helen Frankenthaler, Hans Hofmann, and many others. Horizontal rectangles, soft fields, where the color vibrates without revealing the brushstroke, are an intense expression of his inner drama.
Rothko developed a radical and personal language: no obvious figures or symbols, but color everywhere to eliminate all distractions and offer the viewer an almost spiritual experience. The large canvases are not viewed from afar, but inhabited, and color becomes a mental space. In his paintings, one can sense a profound existential tension; time seems suspended, and the fields confront one another like silent presences. Rothko himself said: "I believe that color, aided by light, enters into a relationship with the soul and brings about unexpected emotional consequences." For this reason, he recommended observing his works up close, almost from an intimate distance, to allow oneself to be completely enveloped by the chromatic field: his deep reds, layered blacks, incandescent purples and oranges are fields of emotional tension, almost interior spaces reflecting solitude, fragility, silence, but also a form of transcendence.
His rejection of purely decorative art was categorical: art should speak to deep emotions, not simply be "beautiful." The artist was a man of complex mind, averse to labels, particularly that of "colorist," and a painter continually seeking to represent the precariousness of human drama.
An opportunity not to be missed: the Florentine exhibition is undoubtedly one of the most important exhibitions ever dedicated to Mark Rothko.
The exhibit explores also his connection to the Italian artistic tradition.
On display an extraordinary selection of works, including large paintings never before exhibited in Italy, from prestigious private collections and international museums such as MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Tate in London, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington.
Rothko is known for his color field paintings, created between 1949 and 1970. These rectangular paintings, where the artist uses a single color or a very narrow palette, trace back to the expressive movement that developed in the United States after World War II, whose leading exponents included artists such as Jackson Pollock, Philip Guston, Helen Frankenthaler, Hans Hofmann, and many others. Horizontal rectangles, soft fields, where the color vibrates without revealing the brushstroke, are an intense expression of his inner drama.
Rothko developed a radical and personal language: no obvious figures or symbols, but color everywhere to eliminate all distractions and offer the viewer an almost spiritual experience. The large canvases are not viewed from afar, but inhabited, and color becomes a mental space. In his paintings, one can sense a profound existential tension; time seems suspended, and the fields confront one another like silent presences. Rothko himself said: "I believe that color, aided by light, enters into a relationship with the soul and brings about unexpected emotional consequences." For this reason, he recommended observing his works up close, almost from an intimate distance, to allow oneself to be completely enveloped by the chromatic field: his deep reds, layered blacks, incandescent purples and oranges are fields of emotional tension, almost interior spaces reflecting solitude, fragility, silence, but also a form of transcendence.
His rejection of purely decorative art was categorical: art should speak to deep emotions, not simply be "beautiful." The artist was a man of complex mind, averse to labels, particularly that of "colorist," and a painter continually seeking to represent the precariousness of human drama.
An opportunity not to be missed: the Florentine exhibition is undoubtedly one of the most important exhibitions ever dedicated to Mark Rothko.
Access notes:
Last admission one hour before closing.
Photo gallery