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Number 19

Blurry rectangles of yellow, gray, and black float against background of orange.
© 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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  • Blurry rectangles of yellow, gray, and black float against background of orange.
  • Blurry rectangles of yellow, gray, and black float against background of orange.

Date:

1949

Artist:

Mark Rothko (Marcus Rothkowitz)
American, born Russia (Latvia), 1903–1970

About this artwork

Like many of the New York School painters of the 1940s, Mark Rothko was largely influenced by Surrealism, creating allegorical abstractions depicting biomorphic and mythological forms. By 1947 he abandoned representational imagery entirely and began working with color, light, and space. Number 19 follows the characteristic format of his multiform paintings, in which loosely defined organic shapes hover over a thinly brushed background. Whereas color once assumed a supporting role in his compositions, by this period, color had become a defining force, thus marking the transition from Rothko’s early work to his mature, color-field paintings.

Status

On View, Gallery 291

Department

Contemporary Art

Artist

Mark Rothko

Title

Number 19

Place

United States (Artist's nationality)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1949

Medium

Oil on canvas

Inscriptions

Not inscribed on recto; inscribed: verso: "Mark Rothko / 1949" (lower left in orange-red paint); "Top" (on upper strainer member in orange-red paint)

Dimensions

172.8 × 101.8 cm (68 × 40 1/8 in.)

Credit Line

Anonymous gift

Reference Number

1957.308

Copyright

© 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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