Number 10 is an oil painting based on an artwork of the same title by the artist Mark Rothko. Rothko’s work became known for its apparent simplicity, its larger-than-life scale, and its capacity to provoke intense reactions from the audience. Rothko is associated with Abstract Expressionism, a group of American painters that gathered international prominence and acclaim for American art. Even though Rothko shared similarities with the circle of painters, especially their search for sensations such as “the sublime”, he always followed his principles. In Number 10, we have a stellar example of the painter’s subtle and complex color harmony, capable of creating a visual dynamic with a restricted palette.

Rothko was an immigrant that had a substantial education since his early years. Before completing seven years in the United States, he received a scholarship from Yale. He was deeply let down by the activities of the young students and decided to drop out. The artist started working in New York, where he enrolled in The New School for Design, having classes with Arshile Gorky. Rothko had courses with Cubist Max Weber as well, both teachers being strong influences in Rothko’s developing style.

The painter’s circle of acquaintances would all prove to be inspirations for him to follow an artistic career path, even if only aesthetically. During the 1930s, he was close to Adolph Gottlieb and Barnett Newman, and other artists who would paint together and discuss art. Some artists from this circle later formed The Ten, which advocated for more artistic and creative freedom in American art. From this exchange of experiences, Rothko eventually began to have solo shows. Around the same period, he was employed by the Works Progress Administration, a public project that financed many artists. Throughout the subsequent years, his artwork changed immensely. Around the mid-1940s, Rothko reached an entirely abstract work, fascinated by color field painting that was practiced by other artists such as Clyfford Still.

Number 10, today part of MOMA’s collection, was painted in 1950. The painting has four colors: a dark umber for the underpainting, a dark blue, which forms a frame-inside-a-frame. He painted a rectangle on the upper portion of the canvas and at the center of the composition an orange pigment. With a light green color, almost white, he created the line at the top and the rectangle on the bottom. The artwork is an excellent example of the restricted nature of Rothko’s most famous artworks, and even with its simplicity, it is capable of evoking the most profound emotions.