Event: Visit to the exhibition Rothko in Florence

Event: Visit to the exhibition

Rothko in Florence

March 14 – August 23, 2026

Florence, Palazzo Strozzi

Curated by Christopher Rothko (the artist's son) and Elena Geuna.

Click Here for Italian Version

Mark Rothko was born on September 26, 1903, in Dvinsk, Russia, now a city in Latvia. In 1913, his mother, along with Mark and his sister, joined their father, who had already been in the United States for three years.

Rothko was of Jewish origin. Yet, he never returned to Russia or Germany. Instead, he visited Florence twice, in 1950 and 1959. The painter returns to Palazzo Strozzi for the exhibition "Rothko in Florence" from March 14 to August 23, 2026.

Despite his overlapping horizontal bands and his dense, rich colors, Rothko is a classical artist. “All my life I have done nothing but paint Greek temples without knowing it” (1) was how Rothko defined his art.

It is the most important exhibition of the year in Italy, and a visit is essential for two reasons.

The first is the link between Florence and Rothko's concept of classicism. The second is an anecdote revealing his character: “One Sunday, in Greenwich Village, when Ruth Kligman encountered Rothko and said, ‘Mark, this is Andy Warhol,’ Rothko turned his back and walked away without saying a word.” (2)

1. Riccardo Venturi, «Rothko», Art e Dossier, No. 238 (November 2007), editorial insert, Florence-Milan, Giunti, p. 24 Author’s translation

2. Riccardo Venturi, «Rothko», Art e Dossier, No. 238 (November 2007), editorial insert, Florence-Milan, Giunti, p. 43 Author’s translation

https://www.palazzostrozzi.org/mostra/mark-rothko/