Rothko, Brown, Blue, Brown on Blue, 1953 Descriptive title; tells you what colors he uses  Compositional colors are inspired by his interest in Friedrich Nietzsche and the divided nature of man. There is the Apollonian side, named for Apollo, god of the sun; embodies the elements of logic and reason, which are constantly at war with our more base instincts (Dionysian side).  The canvas is a vertical rectangle, but sub divided into horizontal, rectangular shapes.   The division is representative of the Apollonian side, and the colors represent the Dionysian side.

Rothko, Brown, Blue, Brown on Blue, 1953

  • Descriptive title; tells you what colors he uses 
  • Compositional colors are inspired by his interest in Friedrich Nietzsche and the divided nature of man. There is the Apollonian side, named for Apollo, god of the sun; embodies the elements of logic and reason, which are constantly at war with our more base instincts (Dionysian side). 
  • The canvas is a vertical rectangle, but sub divided into horizontal, rectangular shapes.  
  • The division is representative of the Apollonian side, and the colors represent the Dionysian side.
3 notes
  1. artwhat posted this

artwhat.

during my first ever survey of western art class, my professor explained the difference between historians and art historians. historians, she said, were interested in old things. art historians, on the other hand, were interested in old things of quality. you don't hang garbage up on the walls of a museum; it has to be substantial and it has to mean something. so here you go; old things, made mostly by dudes long dead, of debatable degrees of quality but always with a constant level of importance. think of this as a deck of flash cards... sans the whole cards part.

Hobo theme by Mike Ballan with minor edits by Jess