What Rothko’s Art Teaches Us About Suffering

The most unexpectedly uplifting and consoling artist of the 20th century was the abstract painter Mark Rothko, the high priest of grief and loss who spent the latter part of his career turning out a succession of sublime and sombre canvases that spoke, as he put it, of the ‘tragedy of being human’. Sign up to our mailing list to receive 10% off your first order with us: https://r1.dotdigital-pages.com/p/6TU0-63X/hellotsol For books and more from The School of Life, visit our online shop: https://bit.ly/3WNcnkm Our website has classes, articles and products to help you lead a more fulfilled life: https://bit.ly/3WHNxSU If you want to keep working on your mental well-being and self-understanding, download our hugely helpful new app now: https://bit.ly/3Zac9oH For information on The School of Life’s learning and wellbeing solutions for businesses, including workshops and talks, visit https://bit.ly/3ICqvGw Email business@theschooloflife.com or join our monthly business newsletter: https://bit.ly/3ICEJHq Join this channel to get access to exclusive members perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7IcJI8PUf5Z3zKxnZvTBog/join FURTHER READING You can read more on this and other subjects on our blog, here: https://bit.ly/3QcGoaA “The most unexpectedly uplifting and consoling artist of the 20th century was the abstract painter Mark Rothko, the high priest of grief and loss who spent the latter part of his career turning out a succession of sublime and sombre canvases that spoke, as he put it, of the ‘tragedy of being human’ — and who, in 1970, ended his own life at the age of 66 in his studio in New York. Born in Dvinsk, Russia, Rothko emigrated to the United States at the age of ten and immediately grew to despise the aggressive good cheer and steely optimism of his adopted land. Appalled by the sentimentality around him, he learnt to make art that was insular, unrelenting, sombre and oriented towards pain. It was, one critic said, the visual equivalent of a condemned prisoner’s last gasp. Rothko’s favourite colours were a burnt burgundy, dark grey, pitch black and blood red, occasionally, alleviated by a sliver of yellow…” MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Watch more films on ART/ARCHITECTURE in our playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwxNMb28Xmpcp7jXVszdNruKUtHZ2zuZb SOCIAL MEDIA Feel free to follow us at the links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theschooloflifelondon/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheSchoolOfLife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theschooloflifelondon/ LinkedIn: ttps://www.linkedin.com/company/the-school-of-life-for-business/ CREDITS Produced in collaboration with: Diego Londeiros https://thebrightagency.com/uk/animation/artists/diego-lodeiros?collection=gifs Title animation produced in collaboration with Vale Productions https://www.valeproductions.co.uk/