Mark Rothko. Paintings on Paper

Tragedy, grief, ecstasy and joy are some of the themes Rothko strove to express. He became best known for his immense abstract paintings on large canvases. Less well known is that he also painted some 1,000 works on paper.

The paintings on paper convey a side of Rothko’s art that has only recently begun to receive serious attention. They challenge established notions of what is and is not a painting. The themes range from landscapes, portraits and surrealist projects to Rothko’s characteristic, rectangular color fields.

I am interested only in expressing basic human emotions – tragedy, ecstasy, doom ... 
Mark Rothko, Writings on Art: Mark Rothko, 2006, p. 119

Rothko stated that his abstract paintings were about basic human emotions. He strove to develop a personal and distinctive idiom capable of expressing emotional and existential states. He preferred his paintings to be displayed without glass and frames to allow the viewer to get up close to them.

The exhibition focuses on four key periods in which painting on paper played an important role in the artist’s development and search for a personal expression. In the Light Hall, you can explore this development, which continued throughout his career.

Following a heart attack in 1968, Rothko was encouraged to work with less demanding materials and formats. Over the next two years, his production of paintings on paper increased considerably.

Characteristic of his works from this period is a reduced, dark palette dominated by black, brown and grey tones. But several of the works also feature brighter hues – purple, pink and blue. The dark colors are often seen as reflecting Rothko’s mental health, unstable lifestyle and ultimately suicide in 1970.

Recent interest in the artist has revealed his production to be larger and more varied than many people had realised. Accordingly, the exhibition offers insights into a late period that was in many ways extraordinary and complex.

The exhibition is organised by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in collaboration with the National Museum, Oslo. 

The exhibition is accompanied by the publication Mark Rothko. Paintings on Paper (National Gallery of Art/Yale University Press, 2023) by Adam Greenhalgh, curator at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., and an introductory book about Mark Rothko, written by the curators Karianne Ommundsen and Øystein Ustvedt of the National Museum.

– Mark Rothko på Nasjonalmuseet: Slukt inn i fargen.
Carina Elisabeth Beddari, Morgenbladet 26.07.24

– A New Side of Rothko Emerges in a Show of His Intimate Works on Paper.
Vivienne Chow, Artnet 19.07.24

– Indeed, Rothko’s works are soul-stirring, and the National Museum’s exhibition brings that emotion to the forefront.
Billie Miro Breskin, Vogue Scandinavia 17.05.24

– Å se maleriene hans er som å stirre inn i en følsom hukommelse.
Alma Holtvedt, Aftenposten 22.05.24

– At den som tar steget opp til og inn i disse bildene, vil få øye på noe givende, går jeg imidlertid så langt som til å garantere.
Kåre Bulie, Klassekampen 22.05.24

– Tilsynelatende så enkelt og lett å gripe, men samtidig så mystisk og ubegripelig. Ååå, for en utstilling!
Mona Pahle Bjerke, NRK 21.05.24

– Med Mark Rothko-utstillingen har Nasjonalmuseet skaffet seg en verdig konkurrent til suksessutstillingen med Britta Marakatt-Labba.
Lars Elton, Dagsavisen 18.05.24

– Rothkos kunst treffer en lengsel i nåtiden
Sara Jacobsen Høgestøl, Vårt Land 17.05.24

– Åpner opp om det 20. århundrets mest spektakulære kunststrid
Regine Stokstad, D2 8.05.24