#Quiet reflection painting windows

“Among the comments written in the guest book kept in the chapel’s foyer, the most frequently used word is ‘peace,’” writes the late Rothko biographer James E. A common question over the years has been: “Where are the paintings?” Many have found in the Rothko Chapel a meditative calm. While Rothko did not offer any religious context for the paintings themselves-although the repeated use of triptychs echoes the Holy Trinity-he “did tell Dominique de Menil about his intense emotional experience during this visit.”įrom its opening, some visitors were baffled by this chapel of strange darkness. Marian Assunta in Torcell,” explains philosophy of religion scholar Wessel Stoker in the International Journal for Philosophy of Religion. For instance, in positioning one painting at the entrance across from another in the apse, “ Rothko wanted to reproduce the tension that he had experienced during a visit to the Byzantine basilica church of St. Rothko had very specific ideas of how he wanted visitors to feel in the space. He initially worked with architect Philip Johnson, another leading figure of American modern expression, yet they conflicted over the design, so the angular structure was completed with architects Howard Barnstone and Eugene Aubry. His paintings were to hang by themselves in a space he had designed, and they would be viewed in a context that would emphasize humanistic meaning over abstraction.” In Perspectives of New Music, music historian Steven Johnson writes that Rothko “regarded his Chapel commission as the major event in his career. In 1964, he agreed not just to contribute paintings to the chapel but to collaborate on the architecture that would hold them. The Menils were most interested in how Rothko engaged with the spiritual in his art-the “Spirit of Myth, which is generic to all myths at all times,” as he once put it. Step by step, the field was enlarged, leaving only a narrow margin of color. At first, the field occupied only the central part-an opening in a wall into the night. A careful look at any of the black fields reveals successive stages. Within the severe limitations he had set for himself, Rothko worked relentlessly. He killed himself a year before the chapel was dedicated in 1971 as “a sacred place open to all, every day.” That year, Dominique de Menil, who commissioned the chapel with her husband John (together they also founded the neighboring Menil Collection), considered how the late painter created such depth with a sparse palette in Art Journal: It was among the last works finished by the artist Mark Rothko. The non-denominational space is both a respite and a masterpiece of modern art. Thank You.Rothko “regarded his Chapel commission as the major event in his career.” INTERNATIONAL CLIENTS - If you wish to purchase this Original Painting please contact me regarding shipping costs prior to purchasing. Please note: I do NOT recommend hanging any painting in an environment which is prone to high humidity or heat.

#Quiet reflection painting windows

* You can tell I work freehand, no rulers or perfectly straight lines which I think adds to the charm of this Original Charcoal Drawing, the studios and windows were all a little wonky as the dance school was so very old!

Those large, cold metal framed windows with their squeaky handles and the smooth, well-worn wooden barre bring back a whole host of emotions, including the chatter of young hopeful dancers, our dreams of the future and the endless hours of disciplined practise we all endured!

This piece is extremely special to me as the original reference photograph is of a dear fellow dance school pupil and I remember this studio so well from my days at Bush Davies School in East Grinstead, Sussex where I studied for over 3 years. ‘Quiet Reflection’ is a gentle, emotive drawing of a young ballet student, deep in thought as she sits on the studio windowsill in between classes or rehearsals. Original Charcoal & Mixed Media Drawing on Lightly Textured Recycled PaperĪ delicate charcoal & Mixed Media drawing in dark hues with softer shades of greys and highlights of soft and bright whites created on pale grey recycled paper.