Page 353 - Uros Todorovic Byzantine Painting Contemporary Eyes

Chapter VI
In the three examples presented in the above triptych we observe the same intensity of the expression of mood through colour and a relationship among the red nuances. In all three examples, the bright warm colour is positioned in the upper area and covers a larger amount of the composition, wherein the sense of Resurrection discreetly prevails over the sense of darkness. The darkness symbolised by the lower areas painted in dark colours, remains to exist as a tangible experience. Having previously discussed Nietzsche’s influence in Rothko’s painting, we can discern in Rothko’s works above (left and right), how the Nietzsche-like notion of the dominance of darkness is combined with the Rus- sian-Byzantine influence where the warm sense of Resurrection is dominant (and per- haps also combined with a liking of the Jewish, non-figurative artistic tradition). Also, we observe in the above presented Russian icon of the Resurrection (in the middle) how darkness (death and hell) is depicted under Christ’s feet, whereas in the icon of the Cru- cifixion presented on the previous page, darkness is placed in the upper part of the com- position, symbolising therein the dominance of tragedy – one that can aesthetically be related to Nietzsche’s understanding of tragedy expressed in his book The Birth of Tragedy.
Demonstration 16
57. Left: Mark Rothko, No. 14, Untitled, 1960, oil on canvas, 289.6 x 266.7 cm (114 x 105), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
58. Middle: Descent into Hell (Resurrection), Russian icon, second half of the 13th century, Palazzo Monmanari Gallery, Vicenza, Intesa Bank collection.
59. Right: Mark Rothko, Untitled, 1953, tempera on paper mounted on board, 100.3 x 67.3 cm (39.1⁄2 x 26.1⁄2), private collection.
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