Mark Rothko “Untitled (Yellow on Orange) no. 579”, 1957, Oil on canvas

Mark Rothko was born today, September 25th, in 1903. One of several Rothko paintings using shades of orange and yellow, Untitled (Yellow on Orange) no. 579, was on view at the Palm Springs Art Museum in 2019 as part of the group exhibition, Shaping Vision: Impressionism to Abstract Expressionism.

From the Palm Springs Art Museum about the work:

Although Rothko is closely associated with Abstract Expressionism, his methods and intentions contrast strikingly with others in the group including Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock. Instead of the highly gestural styles of these artists, Rothko typically applied his colors in thin, glowing clouds of paint that eliminate all traces of the brush. In “Untitled (Yellow and Orange) no. 579”, a misty rectangle of yellow floats on a background of saturated reddish-orange. With minimal means, Rothko suggests a vast space that absorbs the viewer in its calm and sensuous hues. Highly literate and articulate, Rothko wrote that he sought in painting a contemplative experience that elevates awareness out of commonplace experience onto a more transcendental plane.

If the painting above makes you think of a bright, sunny day, you are not alone.  Finnish designer and creative director Joonas Virtanen recently created a fun app that matches the current weather in your city (or many other ones) with a Rothko painting.