23/07/2026
Suitably refreshed by a spot of lunch and a bit of air conditioning (it was ferociously hot last week in Florence), we set off to the Palazzo Strozzi for the third, and main, part of the Mark Rothko exhibition.
Large but not too big, the selection felt rather pleasing, from the first room of figurative and semi-abstract work of the 30s and early 40s, into the beginnings of his abstraction and onwards, the sense of scale and colour was really strong.
Although Mrs J&J has always been a big fan of Rothko, I have sometimes felt a little underwhelmed so it was particularly good to see these paintings in a sympathetic space. Nor was it too busy, allowing for plenty of room to gauge the interactions of the different works in each room.
I have picked out five paintings that I really liked, as well as some details of the zones where the colours meet. This was especially interesting for me in light of Rothko's friendship with and/or influence on a host of British abstract painters of the same generation; Peter Lanyon, Terry Frost, Paul Feiler, Patrick Heron and of course William Scott.
Scott and Rothko became good friends, corresponding a great deal over the years, and particularly when the two artists were wrestling with demands of a large-scale commission, Rothko with the Seagram Murals and Scott with the Altnagelvin Hospital mural.
Because so many of Rothko's major works are held in US collections, private and public, it is quite an experience to be able to see these paintings at first hand rather than on the page, and in the context of the other smaller supporting elements of this show, it makes for a whole that is massively enjoyable.
It is on until the 23rd of August so if you find yourself in the vicinity of Florence, do go and immerse yourself, especially in the display at San Marco. And if you can't get there, there is a really lovely catalogue too!
