Yellow and Blue

Rothko began his career with works close to surrealism, but it was at the end of the 40s that he created his own style, with large paintings with contrasting rectangles with thin layers and colored veils.
Rothko gave a religious meaning to his painting and his intention is to envelop the viewer, to make him/her a participant in that experience.
A similar  work “Untitled (Yellow and Blue)” was completed by Rothko in 1954 and it received one of the highest prices at auction of any his artworks. It is one of his simpler compositions from the Color Field movement, with two main areas of color and a narrow band at the bottom of the painting.
The piece was auctioned by Sotheby’s in 2015 and achieved a final price of $46,450,000.

His colors darken at the end of his work, perhaps reflecting the depression he suffered from that led to suicide.

We have chosen this painting to remember February 2022, with the colors of the Ukrainian flag to bring some beauty to these dark times.