Two Abstract Works of Art and Their Conveying of Contrasting Mood

The final test of a painting, theirs, mine, any other, is:
does the painter's emotions come across?
- Franz Kline

For many years, I have been fascinated by modern art. Although it is astonishing how earlier artists were able to depict humans and nature realistically and naturally, I always loved how modern artists expressed their opinion in the most abstract or unrealistic ways. Prior to my trip to the St. Louis Art Museum, I was planning on comparing Andy Warhol’s Most Wanted Men, no. 12. Frank B and Chuck Close’s Keith. However, those pieces have been removed a week before my visit due to reconstructions at the museum. Because of this, I decided on two other modern artists and their works that were unknown to me up to this point: Franz Kline’s Bethlehem from 1959-60 and Mark Rothko’s Red, Orange, Orange on Red from 1962. Although both paintings are abstract and may seem a lot alike in the first place, they are different when looking at them closer and comparing the composition and kind of work that was put into them. I will focus on the contrasting mood that is conveyed by Bethlehem and Red, Orange, Orange on Red and how this is achieved.