Rothko - Basic Art Series is a book of works and history by painter Mark Rothko. He advocates freedom of expression and is becoming one of the leading figures of abstract expressionism. After a repertoire of figurative works, Rothko develops his now-iconic canvases with bold color blocks in red, yellow, ochre, red-brown, black, green. With these shimmering, pulsating masses of color, Rothko emphasizes that he has not removed the human figure but rather put symbols or forms in their place. These intense shapes contain all the tragedy of human society.