Born of Russian and Jewish descent, American artist Mark Rothko refused to be categorized and restrained by conventional paradigms; however, one would likely associate him with abstract expressionism. Untitled (Black on Grey), was Rothko’s final painting, which he described as “an artic wasteland under a vast and empty sky, deathlike.” The artist battled depression, addiction, and anti-semitism, and used art as a form of emotional and religious expression. His works were thematically represented through his choice of colour, which he used to elicit powerful emotions from viewers; the hues are arguably metaphors for the feelings he experienced. Sadly, Rothko’s journey as a renowned artist ended abruptly when he died of an overdose in 1970, but he succeeded in leaving behind a brilliant artistic legacy that has proven to persist past the grey-area of his uncategorizable identity. 

Image Credits:
Feature: Felix Mittermeier at Pexels, Creative Commons
Body: rocor at Flickr, Creative Commons, some rights reserved