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Rites of Lilith
Rothko Mark • Painting, 1945, 208.3×270.8 cm
Description of the artwork «Rites of Lilith»
In the mid-1940s, Rothko plunged into the study of mythology and archetypes. Together with colleaguesAdolf Gottlieb andBarnett newman he studied the works of Freud and Jung, trying on theories from psychoanalysis to contemporary art. First of all, they were interested in the archetypes of the collective unconscious, the psychology of dreams and mythological symbols.
Rothko drew the most inspiration at that moment from the views of Nietzsche, in particular, in his book The Birth of Tragedy. Following the philosopher, who believed that the Greek tragedy distracted mankind from the horror of earthly existence, the artist strove to use his work to fill the spiritual vacuum that swallowed the souls of modern people.
During this period, Rothko painted surrealistic paintings, the names of which refer to various cultural sources of his inspiration. The Greek tragedy was reflected in the works “Oedipus”, “Altar of Orpheus”, “Sacrifice of Iphigenia” and others, the images of Christianity and Judaism - on the canvases “Rites of Lilith”, “Gethsemane”, “The Last Supper”.
His fascination with myth was fleeting, and already in 1947, the searches for Rothko would lead him to a new stage in his work. He will abandon the “thrilling experience of tragedy as the only source of art” and completely stop giving any paintings any names. Plots and images completely and completely go into abstraction, paving the way for his famous painting of the color field.
The author: Natalia Azarenko
Rothko drew the most inspiration at that moment from the views of Nietzsche, in particular, in his book The Birth of Tragedy. Following the philosopher, who believed that the Greek tragedy distracted mankind from the horror of earthly existence, the artist strove to use his work to fill the spiritual vacuum that swallowed the souls of modern people.
During this period, Rothko painted surrealistic paintings, the names of which refer to various cultural sources of his inspiration. The Greek tragedy was reflected in the works “Oedipus”, “Altar of Orpheus”, “Sacrifice of Iphigenia” and others, the images of Christianity and Judaism - on the canvases “Rites of Lilith”, “Gethsemane”, “The Last Supper”.
His fascination with myth was fleeting, and already in 1947, the searches for Rothko would lead him to a new stage in his work. He will abandon the “thrilling experience of tragedy as the only source of art” and completely stop giving any paintings any names. Plots and images completely and completely go into abstraction, paving the way for his famous painting of the color field.
The author: Natalia Azarenko
