Day #3 - Art for Lent: Mark Rothko's "Untitled" #Lent2016

ART + RELIGION
By Aaron Rosen

"Untitled" (1964-7) by Mark Rothko | USA; Dry pigments, polymer, rabbit-skin glue, and egg/oil emulsion on canvas, tri[tych, each [ane: 180 x 297 in.) North apse, Rothko Chapel, Houston, Texas

While it was posthumously dedicated as a nondenominational space, the chapel was originally intended to be Cathollic, a fact the artist willingly accepted. By grouping his works in triptychs, Mark Rothko encouraged viewers to approach them as they would a traditional altarpiece. This was not, however a repudiation of Judaism. Instead, working with the norms and expectations of a Christian space allowed Rothko the freedomt to investigate religious dimensions he felt uncomfortable addressing directly in a Jewish idiom. [page 12]

Lent is the annual Christian preparation for Easter. "Today's Art for Lent2016" features artworks that illustrate the Christian "Battle between Carnival and Lent."