Aesthetic Experience in Mark Rothko’s Paintings and St. Thomas Chapel Example

Abstract

Mark Rothko’s St. The paintings he made for the Thomas Chapel have an important place in terms of aesthetic experience in Abstract Expressionist art. In the works he made for the chapel, Rothko seems to focus entirely on the inner world and concentrate on the spiritual reality of the subject’s self-concept. The aesthetic experience of the subject in front of the work in the interior of the chapel reflects a form of confrontation with his own existence and his position in the world. In his aesthetic experience, the subject returns to his own reality in the perception of emptiness and nothingness in the face of works devoid of form and object in a common space that accommodates all religions and beliefs. What is felt in front of the paintings, the emotional experience experienced as a result of the discharge of tragic emotional accumulations such as pain, suffering, sadness and longing, paves the way for a different awareness. These experiences, which are a form of introverted enlightenment, bring about a momentary but powerful awareness. This experience and awareness created by Rothko's works in the chapel is one of the highest-level examples of abstract expressionist art.