It is a widely accepted notion among painters that it does not matter what one paints as long as it is well painted. This is the essence of academicism.
Mark RothkoRead
A picture lives by companionship, expanding and quickening in the eyes of the sensitive observer. It dies by the same token. It is therefore risky to send it out into the world. How often it must be impaired by the eyes of the unfeeling and the cruelty of the impotent.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Art is deeply influenced by the perception of its audience, thriving on appreciation and suffering from indifference or cruelty.
Mark Rothko's quote reflects the profound relationship between art and its observers. He suggests that a piece of art derives its life and vitality from the emotional engagement of sensitive viewers, who appreciate and interact with it deeply. Conversely, art can suffer and lose its essence when faced with the dispassionate or cruel perspectives of those who fail to understand its value. The quote underscores the inherent risks artists take when sharing their work with the world, as it may be vulnerable to misunderstanding and critique.
Themes
ArtPerceptionEmotionObserverSensitivity
In practice
Example use cases
This quote is perfect for an art exhibition to highlight the importance of viewer interpretation.
More from Mark Rothko
All quotes →Look, it's my misery that I have to paint this kind of painting, it's your misery that you have to love it, and the price of the misery is thirteen hundred and fifty dollars.
Mark RothkoRead
We favor the simple expression of the complex thought. We are for the large shape because it has the impact of the unequivocal. We wish to reassert the picture plane. We are for flat forms because they destroy illusion and reveal truth.
Mark RothkoRead
The artist invites the spectator to take a journey within the realm of the canvas... Without taking the journey, the spectator has really missed the essential experience of the picture.
Mark RothkoRead
The fact that people break down and cry when confronted with my pictures shows that I can communicate those basic human emotions.. the people who weep before my pictures are having the same religious experience I had when painting them. And if you say you are moved only by their color relationships then you miss the point.
Mark RothkoRead
If our titles recall the known myths of antiquity, we have used them again because they are the eternal symbols upon which we must fall back to express basic psychological ideas.
Mark RothkoRead
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