According to his own words, for him formal elements such as color, shape, or scale were of lesser importance when it came to conveying the human condition through art. He claimed that, when creating, he was guided by a philosophical vision rather than by aesthetics. Rothko pursued an almost spiritual quest to evoke an experience of the transcendental.

Throughout the development of his artistic career, both his work and his use of color changed drastically.

In the beginning, his subjects focused on everyday scenes of New York life, with a very muted palette dominated by grays, beiges, browns, and blacks.

He then began to move away from representations of everyday scenes and immersed himself in symbolism, especially Greco-Roman, using a subdued palette, although colors such as yellow, orange, green, or blue sometimes appear. However, grays and browns still stand out.

By the late 1940s, Rothko radically and dramatically changed his style, moving from figuration to total abstraction. Rectangular forms float over fields of color. This new visual language was ideal for conveying the tragic realities of human experience, a concern the artist had held since his early years.

Color now plays a crucial role, becoming one of the most powerful elements of his work. He expanded his chromatic range, incorporating vibrant and intense tones. The combination and use of colors were not based on prior study; rather, Rothko approached them in an almost unconscious way. It is precisely through this process that he succeeds in drawing the viewer into the spiritual and transcendental experience he sought.

Whether intentionally or not, the way Rothko chose his colors was closely related to his emotional and psychological state.

In the 1940s and 1950s, the colors were vivid—bright reds, oranges, yellows, and luminous pinks. Through them, he conveyed energy, expansion, and vitality, as well as intense and universal emotions that he sought to evoke in the viewer.

Later, the colors evolved into deeper tones such as maroons, browns, and deep violets. Similarly, his compositions became denser and more contemplative, reflecting a more introspective attitude.

Finally, in his later years, the colors became very dark and muted: blacks, grays, and very dark browns. During this period, his emotional state was troubled, as he suffered from health problems and depression, which was reflected in his work.

Rothko Chapel is a spiritual sanctuary and meditation space that houses fourteen canvases by Mark Rothko, all of them in very dark tones close to black, painted between 1964 and 1967. Three years later, Mark Rothko died by suicide at the age of 66.

"I may have used colors and shapes in the way that painters before have not used them but this was not my purpose…The form follows the necessity of what we have to say. When you have a new view of the world you will have to find new ways to say it.”

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