Mark Rothko, renowned 20th-century abstract painter, left an incomparable artistic legacy, with works of deep color and pure form.

Although Rothko is primarily known for his expressive canvases, he also shared his wisdom through carefully chosen words. In this article, we will explore the ten most inspiring quotes by Mark Rothko, offering a glimpse into the artist's creative and thoughtful soul.

His captivating words reveal his profound understanding of art, emotion and the human condition, while illuminating his artistic philosophy that continues to influence and inspire art lovers the world over. Let's discover together the words that shaped Mark Rothko's vision and continue to resonate in the contemporary art world.

Art Shortlist
by Art Shortlist - October 23, 2023


1 - Pictures must be miraculous.




2 - A painting is not a picture of an experience; it is an experience.




3 - Silence is so accurate.




4 - Art to me is an anecdote of the spirit.




5 - I'm not an abstractionist. I'm not interested in the relationship of color or form or anything else. I'm interested only in expressing basic human emotions: tragedy, ecstasy, doom, and so on.




6 - There is more power in telling little than in telling all.




7 - One does not paint for design students or historians but for human beings, and the reaction in human terms is the only thing that is really satisfactory to the artist.




8 - The progression of a painter's work, as it travels in time from point to point, will be toward clarity, toward the elimination of all obstacles between the painter and the idea, and between the idea and the observer.




9 - It is really a matter of ending this silence and solitude, of breathing and stretching one's arms again.




10 - 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.