Mark Rothko

While on the trip to London when I went to see Les Miserables I also went to the Tate Modern art gallery. I have been there three times in total so far and each time is just as interesting as the last. This time when I went there was a room which had been re-designed, showing pieces by Mark Rothko. There were about five paintings in total; Large scale, simple yet abstract designs that measured up to 5 metres in length and about 2-3 metres high. They had been painted in deep reds, burgundies, browns and blacks and filled the room with their presence. The room itself was in the middle of the building and so had no natural light in it other than what seeped in through the doorways. The room had been lit with dim down lighters that cast an eerie glow in the room and created such an atmosphere when coupled with the images I was ensnared in the room and found it very difficult to leave. The paintings themselves were incredibly simple and basic but on the scale and the way in which they had been displayed made for an impressive viewing.



I have since been back to that room in the Tate Modern and not felt as moved by what I saw... I don't know what it is or was that moved me so much that day but it wasn't there when I returned... maybe it was just a one time thing...

About Mark Rothko