As we know Mark Rothko and Robert Motherwell are both the crucial roles in genre of abstract expressionism, I choose two art pieces from them in SFMOMA to mainly compare differences in forms and try to explain the reason behind them. One artwork is Elegy to the Spanish Republic, No. 57, which is created by Robert Motherwell between 1957-1961. Another is Mark Rothko’s Untitled, created in 1947.

When viewers walk by the Elegy to the Spanish Republic, No. 57, they could immediately be attracted and feel a sense of entrapment, as it is a large-scale painting hanging up on the wall with bold, clear-cut vertical lines and oval shapes on it. At first sight, we may think it as a spontaneous painting which could be done in a short time, but if walking closer, we could find it is a result of elaborative process. The artist makes careful abstract sketches in charcoal and then apply oil paint on it.

In terms of color, it is a basic palette of white, black and other earth tones like brown or light yellow which may align with theme behind the title: the elegy series which represent artist’s reflection on eternity and transience and his lament over the death and loss for what happen in Spain. However, we could hardly tell whether black paint is on top of the white paint color, or vice versa. A step forward to see the details, we could easily find that it is an iterative procedure instead of simply black on white canvas. The artist firstly abstract black on white and then put yellow ochre and white back on top of the black to sharpen the shape, making the whole art piece not mechanically geometrical and symmetrical on purpose. Apparently, Motherwell is trying to find a balance point to create his own unique abstraction forms on one hand and express his historical concerns on the other hand.

Compared to Robert Motherwell’s quite solemn and monumental artwork, which needs to be decoded and deeply analyzed, Mark Rothko’s Untitled (1947) offers viewers a more candid and intuitive feeling with much more warm toned colors. In respect of forms, this artwork has an even thinner, almost egg tempera surface. We can easily see a kind of incompleteness left on the canvas, suggesting artist’s hands moving freely and unconsciously. No exact boundary and shapes are created but only Rothko’s figurative expression.

Painting is a kind of rhyming and punning (Rosand, 13), through the brushstrokes of color, artist’s process of exploring and psychic state could be readily told. As the quote from Susanne Langer suggests, the artist creates an objective form to convey the inner emotions, to give insight into the sentient world of experience (Edwards, 97). In other words, one of the artist’s aim is to resonate with viewers. As far as I am concerned, Mark Rothko gives great prominence to viewers’ perception for his artworks.

In conclusion, even if they are both abstract expressionists, they differ in forms and styles due to disparate subjects and themes underneath. Robert Motherwell’s artwork seems to have calmer ambience and it focuses more on the geometric configuration and space division on the canvas, whereas Mark Rothko seems to be more emotional and would like to indulge in intuitive colors using or trace of brushstrokes. In my point of view, Motherwell behaves like a philosophical humanist who desires to find an innovative way to adjust his narrative to tell a grand historical story.

Furthermore, this comparison reminds us that abstract expressionism artists could also be divided into various types. One would tend to be more concerned with pure abstraction and structures; some others may put more efforts on pure feeling expressing, thus their works are results of impromptu creation like what Rothko did in this Untitled (1947) or like other symbolic icons such as Jason Pollock or Franz Kline’s works.

Reference:

Rosand, David. “The Meaning of the Mark: Leonardo and Titian”, Kansas City (1988).

Edwards, June. “Susanne Langer: The Arts and Education.” Journal of Thought (1984): 95-102.