Two Abstract Works of Art and Their Conveying of Contrasting Mood

Franz Kline's Bethlehem and Mark Rothko's Red, Orange, Orange on Red

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject Art - Painting, grade: 90/100, Lindenwood University (-), language: English, abstract: The final test of a painting, theirs, mine, any other, is: does the painter's emotions come across? - Franz Kline For many years, I have been fascinated by modern art. Although it is astonishing how earlier artists were able to depict humans and nature realistically and naturally, I always loved how modern artists expressed their opinion in the most abstract or unrealistic ways. Prior to my trip to the St. Louis Art Museum, I was planning on comparing Andy Warhol's Most Wanted Men, no. 12. Frank B and Chuck Close's Keith. However, those pieces have been removed a week before my visit due to reconstructions at the museum. Because of this, I decided on two other modern artists and their works that were unknown to me up to this point: Franz Kline's Bethlehem from 1959-60 and Mark Rothko's Red, Orange, Orange on Red from 1962. Although both paintings are abstract and may seem a lot alike in the first place, they are different when looking at them closer and comparing the composition and kind of work that was put into them. I will focus on the contrasting mood that is conveyed by Bethlehem and Red, Orange, Orange on Red and how this is achieved.