Mark Rothko was a Russian-born American painter and a founding member of the abstract expressionist movement. He is known for his large-scale paintings consisting of colored rectangles or squares arranged in horizontal tiers on a solid colored background. In the 1940s, Rothko began experimenting with mythological themes and different techniques that led to his signature format of floating color fields. By the 1950s, his paintings typically featured only a few large rectangles of color to achieve a meditative, transcendent experience for the viewer. Rothko sought to express emotional and spiritual themes through his abstract works and did not want to explain his paintings, believing interpretations should come from the viewer's own experience.

1. Mark RothkoSeptember 25, 1903 - February 25, 1970

2. historyBorn in RussiaStudied “Liberal Arts” at Yale UniversityFounding member of Ten, which were a group of artists that were apart of the abstract expressionist movement1942 - 1947, Rothko started painting according to Greek mythology and other forms; which is where he started experimenting with his “signature format” including shapes, horizontal and experimentation of different techniques. By 1947 asymmetrically arranged patches of color became the basis of his compositionsBy 1950 Rothko had reduced the number of floating rectangles to two or three, at most four.

3. mediumRothko was a painter.He would use different sizes of canvasAn arrangement of colorsBlend colors and create a ‘transparent’ effect"Silence is so accurate“ Rothko did no like to explain his work, thinking that the story behind the painting would distort the way the viewer see’s the painting.

4. Art examplesUntitled1949National Gallery of ArtUnderground Fantasy(Subway)1940National Gallery of ArtUntitled, 1948Liquid paint soaksCollection of Kate Rothko PrizelUntitled1969John and MaryPappajohn, DesMoines, IowaUntitled, 1959National Gallery of Art

5. conclusionMark Rothko studied the basic forms of art through Christian Tragedies and Greek Mythology but in the end wanted his own views to be represented in his artwork.Because he was a member of the abstract expressionist he wanted to express his views through a new version of abstract art.His unusual abstract paintings were beautiful and through his work you can find your own versions of the paintings truth; this is what Rothko was hoping for.

6. resourceshttp://www.artinthepicture.com/artists/Mark_Rothko/Biography/http://www.nga.gov/feature/rothko/early1.shtm