lacayo on rothko and the water lilies

Via Modern Art Notes, Time's Richard Lacayo on the connection between Monet's Water Lilies and Mark Rothko made real at Tate Modern.

Going back and forth between the two canvases, you could understand in an almost physical way how Rothko's picture operates, how its vertical orientation and near human-scale dimensions, its direct address to your eye, brain and body, condenses the visual field of Monet's horizontal image and untethers it from its last connections to the visible world.

Yeah, art speak. I know. But if you're at all a Rothko fan, you'll get it. (Lacayo's piece has the images to prove his point, so, y'know, click through.)

Comments

[jkottke]

I've always liked Rothko but don't really know why...that fills in some of the gaps. Also, I saw that gallery in the Tate last month and totally missed the connection. Still an art n00b, I guess.