"It is as if the entire
current of Western religious art were finally devoid of its narrative complexities and
corporeal imagery, leaving us with the dark, compelling presences that pose an ultimate
choice between everything and nothing." R. Rosenblum, Modern Painting
and the Northern Romantic Tradition (New York, 1975.) Quoted in D. Ashton, About
Rothko. New York, 1983. pp.184-5.