Four Darks in Red exemplifies Mark Rothko's dark palette of the late 1950s, when he increasingly used red, maroon, and velvety black hues. When seen up close (as the artist intended), this nearly ten-foot-wide canvas engulfs the viewer in an atmosphere of color and intense visual sensations. The weightiest dark color is at the top of the canvas while a softer, roseate glow emanates from below, creating a reversal of visual gravity. Rothko believed that such abstract perceptual forces had the ability to summon what he called "the basic human emotions-tragedy, ecstasy, doom."
