Mark Rothko and Gerhard Richter - good neighbours?
- Clare
- Jan 31
- 6 min read
In normal times, whisper in the Mark Rothko Room in the Tate Modern and you can hear it in the Gerhard Richter Room next door. That was until Rothko’s Seagram Murals went on a journey over the past 16 months. First to the Foundation Louis Vuitton in Paris and then onwards to Tate St Ives.
Last August, I went to an audience with author Rachel Cusk at the Edinburgh book festival. She talked about her latest book, Parade, and mentioned that she had seen the Rothko exhibition in Paris. Cusk said of the artist:
“Rothko’s canvases are so monotonous, so repetitive. Like a tolling bell over and over again and so mysterious. Seeing how the artist is so absent from the art and the people, when you look at the painting it changes the way you look at your own life, I don’t know why.”
This got me thinking about my own experiences with both Mark Rothko and his Seagram Murals and his neighbour at the Tate, Gerhard Richter - where Cage (1) - (6) are on display. One of the first things I do when I visit is head straight to the Rothko Room and then on to see Richter’s works next door.
I thought I’d take some time to reflect on what it is that draws us in time and time again to see the works, and what makes them good neighbours.
A meeting of minds – saying nothing but everything all at once
The two artists’ works may have temporarily been miles apart (The St Ives show has now ended) but they are always only inches apart in terms of their psychological explorations.
Rothko was a major figure in the American Abstract Expressionist movement: ‘their aim, to make art that while abstract was also expressive or emotional in its effect. They were inspired by the surrealist idea that art should come from the unconscious mind, and by the automatism of Joan Miró.
Regarding Richter’s motivations, this line perhaps says it best: ‘[the Cage paintings] are Richter's beautiful way of saying nothing, and as such, of once more declaring his uncompromising independence,’ says Robert Storr.
This makes sense especially if you believe that most of our communications are non-verbal. We’ve always needed non-verbal communication in order to navigate our worlds and so many things can’t be put into words, that’s where great art steps in.
Take one of my favourite of the Seagram Murals, Red on Maroon for example. This is a spiritual experience which places you inside the picture.
The materials used were oil paint, acrylic, glue, pigment and tempera. The support was primed with glue and pigment. Rothko’s processes are reminiscent of older masters. This is also evident in Turner’s ethereality.
With Red on Maroon, Rothko moves from ambiguous solidity to elusiveness, the amorphous shapes evaporate into space. This creates profound emotional or spiritual reactions. Rothko draws attention to the flatness of the canvas, he generates abstract depth of field, creating visual experiences that are infinite and claustrophobic all at once. The work is also suggestive of portholes, inspired by his time in Florence.
Beyond the veil
Red on Maroon is achieved by extremely complex multi-layers of veiled colours. Rothko was known to use solvent to remove paint revealing undercoats further softening the edging of forms, possibly used on this painting. The work simmers and pulsates. The positive and negative rectangular form is solid and elusive receding and advancing towards the viewer, at times transient. The cloud like space also recedes and advances.
Simon Schama says this painting should be viewed close up, around eighteen inches standing distance away. This intimacy captivates the senses. The painting offers an expressive experience which also has the power to provoke calmness and contemplation.
Elusive edges, ambiguous solidity and scale provoke sensations of tragedy, sorrow, grief, stillness and sadness. This was also attained through the positioning of the work when I experienced them at Tate Modern, hung within an intimate space with soft lighting and warm toned walls.
The colours are amorphous, white, maroon and red, sombre and powerful, Rothko gives the viewer permission to be sad. He said, "I’m interested only in expressing basic human emotions, tragedy, ecstasy, doom and so on. And the fact that people breakdown and cry when confronted with my pictures shows that I communicate those basic emotions,’ per MoMa.
There is also musicality: ‘… the realisation of what abstract artists have dreamed for 50 years of doing - making painting as inherently expressive as music.’ It’s also operatic, theatrical and tragic. Red on Maroon isn’t solely a structural composition to be observed from a distance but rather an immersive experience which captivates the senses of the viewer.
A portrait of an idea
The title of the painting is minimalistic, drawing attention to colour, however Rothko was more interested in what he could make the colours do. Abstract meanings such as complex emotional states are expressed through colour and form. The painting is not framed, this makes the viewer concentrate solely on the work. The lack of information about the work, that only distracts, intensifies the experience of the spectator. Rothko said: ‘Freed from the need of describing a particular person, the possibilities are endless. The whole of man’s experience becomes his model, it can be said that all of art is a portrait of an idea,’ per WNYC.
Now to Gerhard Richter, German master of twentieth century Modern art.
Richter has worked in many genres including Conceptual Art, Monochrome Painting, Contemporary Art, Modern Art, Abstract Art, and Photorealism. In comparison to Rothko’s, Red on Maroon, Richter’s Cage- 4, 290 x 290 cm, is more uniformed in size and scale. The room at Tate Modern is also flooded with light and the work(s) are displayed on white walls. This immediately contrasts with the seriousness of Rothko’s Seagram Murals and immediately makes the viewer engage in an altogether different experience. This is less about reverence and more about the paint itself!
Good neighbours
Like Rothko’s painting though, Cage-4 is large at 290 x 290 cm, materials used by the artist are primarily oil paint on canvas. Richter, like Rothko, used complex painterly layering techniques developed by his own hand to create his painting. Richter is also very original in terms of materials and processes. The oil paint is pushed through a fine cloth in order to make the paint as smooth as possible before applying to large and small plastic squidgy-like instruments. These are very similar to ones used in silk screen printing, all of which have been engineered by the artist.
Similar to Rothko, Richter also painted large blocks of colour onto the canvas, covering extensive areas. There is a complex layering process which the artist uses.
Where Richter’s processes differ significantly however, is using several layers of painting and erasure techniques that, arguably, in contrast to Rothko’s painting are less emotive - and more about painting for painting’s sake. But you should always make your own mind up on what you see and experience. Some people say, myself included, that they are reminicent of Monet’s Water Lillies - but this is subjective of course.
A foggy veil descends
Cage (4) is covered in a heavy, grey, foggy veil which obscures the background colours of red, black and yellow / orange. Contrast this with Red on Maroon whereby the sombre colour arrangement has a veiled light cloud-like formation.
Just like Rothko, the painting is architectural but as mentioned above unlike Rothko’s mural it can be perceived in a naturalist or romantic way. There is however a harshness to the painterly effects. The oil paint has rippled and cracked. Richter has made marks which are harsh, edgy and violent.
Also like Rothko, the painting is primarily about the experience between the work and the reaction of the spectator. Richter also draws attention to the flatness of the canvas while at the same time there seems to be a battle going on. Although there are no rectangular portholes in Richter’s work, the juxtaposition of the layering of smooth under painting with the over laying of impasto veiled blocks of colour, mostly grey / white, creates intrigue and visual ambiguity that flits between solidity and transience.
There is also musicality to Richter’s painting. Rothko was thought to be inspired by Mozart - a tragic composer in his mind. Richter’s painting however is inspired by the American avant-guard composer John Cage. In an interview with Thorn-Prikker in 2004, Richter said regards to his Cage (1) - (6) paintings: ‘‘That’s roughly how Cage put it: ‘I have nothing to say and I am saying it.’’ I have always thought that was a wonderful quote. It’s the best chance we have to be able to keep on going.’
That's a lot to think about for now.
To wrap up
This is just a glimpse into some of the reasons why the two artists are good neighbours. If you get chance, go see for yourself. It could be life-changing.
I've been venturing into the world of abstraction lately with my drawings, thanks in part to a year-long drawing course I’m doing at Leith School of Art led by Jane Couroussopoulos. And, inspired by my deep admiration for both Rothko and Richter.
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