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How Rothko become the mythic superman of mystical abstraction

An extraordinary new exhibition at The Hague's Gemeentemuseum follows the arc of the abstract expressionist's career from beginning to end

issue 01 November 2014
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  • Mark Rothko

    Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, until 1 March

Mark Rothko was an abstract artist who didn’t see himself as an abstract artist — or at least not in any ‘formalist’ sense. If a critic called him a ‘colourist’, he would bristle; if they admired his sense of composition, he would complain that this was not what he was about at all.

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