Rothko. wtf? I don't get it

I saw some Rothko's in a gallery in Vienna along with some Rembrandt's. I admired the Rembrandt's, but the Rothko's are the ones that really wowed me. If I went back and only had limited time, I'd head straight for the Rothko's. I'm appreciating abstract art more and more the older I get. Still not there with modern art like Damien Hirst's stuff though!

Nah, you are moved by what moves you. We're all different.

And it's fine to not get Rothko or Pollock or Mozart or Pinter or... Laurel and Hardy.

I just don't think there's much mileage in saying any art is worthless, just "not for me."

I’m the same with music TBH. Doesn’t move me at all. I’ve always felt like a bit of wrong un in that regard 😔. Yes, interesting how we all work!

Oh I’m so happy to read some of these responses! I didn’t get the Rothko love at all til I went to the Tate exhibition and was completely blown away. Totally unexpected.

There was one painting in particular that had the energy of meeting an old friend and I spent about an hour just sitting with it. (I have adhd so that in itself is almost a magical experience).

I was really emotional leaving it too. I’ve never been able to explain it and it’s never happened since and I am a pretty regular gallery goer. It wasn’t like ‘oh that’s a nice colour / shape’ reaction, it was purely emotional.

Rothko’s work does nothing for me. I’m quite envious of some of you who derive so much pleasure from it.

Obviously you need to see it in real life

A friend of mine once suggested I look at Rothko's paintings as doorways or windows to another realm. That thought really made them resonate with me. Pollock still leaves me cold though.

I love modern art, but I also think the high-level art scene is essentially a vessel for money laundering.

The size is definitely a factor. A reproduction doesn't cut it, and certainly not a little picture on a website.

As good as Turner though? I have to disagree there!

I’m really interested in knowing how our brains work differently in terms of art appreciation. I don’t understand the art world at all, and have never been moved by any painting or artwork I have ever seen. I’ve not seen any Rothko but have been to galleries in London many times, as well as Florence, and have seen a fair few famous artworks but have never had any sort of emotional response. Ditto sculptures, architecture. The only times I have been really impressed by a painting or drawing is when it looks very convincing- like a photo. I can’t draw at all and realistic pictures are the only ones that really make me want to stand and look.

I am very moved by music though. I once thought everyone enjoyed music- just different types, but as an adult have very occasionally met people who really don’t connect to music at all. They don’t listen to it, go to hear it performed or even talk about it. I suppose the same goes for art and sadly for me, I’m lacking whatever gene it is that involves reacting emotionally to art. It’s a shame because I’d like to feel something and wonder if I’m defective in some way 😂

I was about to say the same. They almost seem alive. You have to see them in the flesh; reproductions don't do it.

Cy Twombly, however...

I’m not really moved by Rothkos. I paint, and have a couple of degrees in Fine Art so do have appreciation for art. I don’t find them particularly skilled and I’m not surprised that PP says that the forgeries are difficult to tell apart from real Rothkos.

I can see that they would have had a big impact though back when they were first painted as they weren’t like other art, plus their sheer scale is impressive.

This thread has made me want to go to a museum and see this Rothko work!!
not into art, do like a good abstract though like my rug 🤣🤣

Rothkos are the only paintings (and his colour block paintings not the early ones) that trigger any sort of emotional reaction in me. Don’t get me wrong, I really appreciate other art, but the Rothkos just make me want to cry. I really have no idea why but I love them. They are magical.

I was blown away when I first saw a Rothko in person. They’re just nothing like you would expect. So much more than just a block of colour.

I agree they look entirely different in real life and viewing them can be a very emotional experience.

Also, it’s not just blobs of paint. There are so many layers and the resulting colours are incredibly rich and varied.

do go and see them. Ditto Pollock. As well as Gerhard Richter.

You couldn’t do it.

There is something about them in real life - it looks easy until you look at a bad attempt

I don’t think I can add much more than has already been said (very eloquently) by previous posters. But do go and see the originals if you can. They are wonderful and (at least, in my opinion) incredibly moving. You can almost feel the emotion that went into them.

On Pollock specifically, whilst I would usually content that the initial emotional reaction (whether that’s awe or “this is shit!”) a piece has on you is its utmost value, if you google “Jackson pollock fractals”, there’s SO much more to it all than just flicking paint.

An interesting note is that there were so many forgeries created we don't really know which Rothko's are genuine or not. There is a fascinating documentary called Made you look (or something similar) about the man who created them and the collectors who were totally dumped!

Agree with this sentiment. There’s a book called something like “why your 5 year old couldn’t have done [maybe ‘painted’]this”… in sum, because they didn’t.

they didn’t have the original idea, they didn’t execute it, they didn’t have the vision

I'm uncultured, don't really have a clue about art and had to Google Rothko as I'd never heard of him. Similar styles can be found on my walls, where I'm trying to decide which colour to paint the room.

I'm definitely with you OP, but then I'm more passionate about things like music and nature which I guess other people wouldn't get in the same way.

Go and see an original in a gallery if you can. Totally different experience. These paintings were not created to be viewed on tiny screens or as reproductions in a book and you can’t feel any of the energy and vibrancy from them unless you see them ‘in person’.