That is why we profess a spiritual kinship with primitive and archaic art.
Meaning of the quote
The quote means that Rothko and other artists feel a deep connection to ancient and traditional art. They believe these older artworks have a special, spiritual quality that they want to capture in their own modern creations. Rothko felt a sense of unity with the artists of the past, as if they were all part of the same artistic family.
About Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko was an American abstract painter known for his color field paintings. Born in Latvia, he emigrated to the US and became associated with the abstract expressionism movement. His paintings have fetched record-breaking prices at auctions, with one of his works selling for $186 million in 2014.
More quotes from Mark Rothko
Art to me is an anecdote of the spirit, and the only means of making concrete the purpose of its varied quickness and stillness.
American painter of Latvian-Jewish descent (1903-1970)
And last, it may be worthwhile trying to hang something beyond the partial wall because some of the pictures do very well in a confined space.
American painter of Latvian-Jewish descent (1903-1970)
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.
American painter of Latvian-Jewish descent (1903-1970)
We assert that the subject is crucial and only that subject matter is valid which is tragic and timeless.
American painter of Latvian-Jewish descent (1903-1970)
There is no such thing as good painting about nothing.
American painter of Latvian-Jewish descent (1903-1970)
Silence is so accurate.
American painter of Latvian-Jewish descent (1903-1970)
That is why we profess a spiritual kinship with primitive and archaic art.
American painter of Latvian-Jewish descent (1903-1970)
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.
American painter of Latvian-Jewish descent (1903-1970)
This would be a distortion of their meaning, since the pictures are intimate and intense, and are the opposite of what is decorative; and have been painted in a scale of normal living rather than an institutional scale.
American painter of Latvian-Jewish descent (1903-1970)
I also hang the pictures low rather than high, and particularly in the case of the largest ones, often as close to the floor as is feasible, for that is the way they are painted.
American painter of Latvian-Jewish descent (1903-1970)