Rothko's Dionysian Light: Philosophical Reflections on Painting
Philosopher Silvano Petrosino examines Mark Rothko's writings on art, drawing parallels between the painter's use of Greek mythology and the Kabbalistic concept of Shekhinah. Rothko described Apollo as the god of light who can both illuminate and annihilate, and he sought to 'contain the Dionysian in a flash of light.' Petrosino argues that Rothko's paintings enact a 'containment' that reveals the sacred while protecting the viewer from its overwhelming power. The essay references Rothko's statements that art is not self-expression but communication about the world, and that the artist must proceed with caution, risking destruction to bring back something from forbidden territory. The text is adapted from Petrosino's 2011 book 'Abitare l'arte. Heidegger, la Bibbia, Rothko' and appears on the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi website in conjunction with the exhibition 'Rothko a Firenze' at Palazzo Strozzi and Museo di San Marco in Florence, 2026.
Key facts
- Silvano Petrosino is a professor of theoretical philosophy at Università Cattolica di Milano.
- The essay is adapted from Petrosino's 2011 book 'Abitare l'arte. Heidegger, la Bibbia, Rothko'.
- Rothko compared artistic creation to the Greek gods, particularly Apollo and Dionysus.
- Rothko stated: 'Apollo could be the God of Sculpture. But he is also supremely the God of Light; in a flash of splendor not only is everything illuminated but, as the intensity increases, everything is annihilated in the same way. This is the secret I use to contain the Dionysian in a flash of light.'
- Petrosino links Rothko's concept of containment to the Hebrew term Shekhinah, meaning God's dwelling or presence.
- Rothko said: 'I have never thought that painting has anything to do with self-expression. It is a communication about the world to someone else.'
- The exhibition 'Rothko a Firenze' is held at Palazzo Strozzi and Museo di San Marco in Florence in 2026.
- The article is published on the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi website.
Entities
Artists
Institutions
- Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi
- Palazzo Strozzi
- Museo di San Marco
- Università Cattolica di Milano
- Università di Roma Tor Vergata
- Università della Calabria
- Istituto Superiore di Scienze Religiose di Milano
- Flammarion
- Donzelli
- Mimesis
- Feltrinelli
- Vita e Pensiero
- Interlinea Edizioni
- Marietti 1820
- Adelphi
- Suhrkamp Verlag
Locations
- Firenze
- Florence
- Italy
- Milano
- Milan
- Roma
- Rome
- Paris
- Novara
- Genova
- Berlin