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Derek Jones

Spotted

Mark Rothko — Untitled (Black and Gray)
Mark Rothko

Untitled (Black and Gray)

1969

A late-period Mark Rothko painting from his somber final series, featuring a stark horizontal division between a dense black upper field and a mottled gray lower field. The austere, monochromatic palette reflects the profound emotional gravity and existential weight characteristic of Rothko's last works, painted shortly before his death. The visible brushwork in the gray zone contrasts with the more uniform black, creating a haunting tension between opacity and translucency.

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About this work

Mark Rothko, Untitled (Black and Gray), 1969

A late-period Mark Rothko painting from his somber final series, featuring a stark horizontal division between a dense black upper field and a mottled gray lower field. The austere, monochromatic palette reflects the profound emotional gravity and existential weight characteristic of Rothko's last works, painted shortly before his death. The visible brushwork in the gray zone contrasts with the more uniform black, creating a haunting tension between opacity and translucency.

Year
1969
Seen at
MoMA, Manhattan, United States

Related themes

Existential Melancholy, American Artist, Post-War, Abstract Expressionism, Modern, Monochromatic, Unique Work, Color Field Painting, Oil on Canvas

More works by Mark Rothko

Collected by

Carolyn Lynx, Sebastián Naranjo, Derek Jones, Art Institute of Chicago