Mark Rothko, Number 15 in abstract expressionism.

The feature of Color field:

 Color field is a style of abstract painting. It commonly in 1940s and 1950s. Contract to action painting, color field Applied paint in a more traditional way. It applied Color to a flat surface.  And it is Influenced by Matisse’s broad planes of color. Color field Use simple pictorial imagery designed to create emotional impact, it emphasis on inner feeling, spiritual, Sublime and meditative instead of the beautiful. and it also related to the highly coloured minimalism.

 The Basis information of the work:

Number 15 is painted by Mark Rothko in 1957. it is oil on canvas. And it has 2.62x2.96m

The details of Number15 :

 We can see that there are Two black-green Rectangles on top of a Blue background. Two rectangles are in different size, one smaller on the top, and another one bigger on the bottom. The above two black rectangles are surround by the blue background, the rectangle is black-green and the background is intense vibrant blue, it make us feel that the shimmering blue is ringed the overall impression of darkness. Also The edges is unclear, you can see that it is blurred. It Softens the contrast between two colors.

How the work fits into Colour field:

 firstly, Colour field applied Color to a flat surface, and this work applied the color,  blue and black-green on canvas.Moreover, Colour field emphasis the imagery is typically calm and inwardly directed, meditative and spiritual, and this work is Not use some symbolic image  it just use the rectangles and color to create emotional impact. Lastly, Colour field is related to highly coloured minimalism, and this work only use two color to create two simple form, the rectangles.

why this work interests me and my own opinion:

I like this work is because mark Rothko use the simple expression to present the complex thought, a simple expression gives us a big capacity to imagine. The color of number 15 make us feel the darkness, but I think it not just darkness, because the  shimmering blue ringed the back rectangles, it just like the light surround the darkness, it make me feel it is still very safe. like inside everyone hart, we will have the dark side , sometime we will feel depressed,  but if you step forwards, you will find the light, life is still has hope. 

key quote

To paint a small picture is to place yourself outside your experience, to look upon an experience as a stereopticon view or with a reducing glass. However you paint the larger picture, you are in it. It isn’t something you command!

My question:

  Nowadays we can easily see some artworks on the internet, it brings us a lot of convenience that we can no need to visit the gallery, however, would you think that it also has some bad influences to us ?