One of the most famous artists of the last century, Mark Rothko is the protagonist of the essay written by his second son Christopher – published for the first time in Italy by Marsilio Arte – and of the exhibition coming to Florence, at Palazzo Strozzi, on 14 March

In 2026, the spotlight is on Mark Rothko, an artist who was able to traverse the territories of painting, giving shape to works that have entered the collective imagination.
His career is retraced by his second son Christopher, curator, together with Elena Geuna, of the exhibition coming to Florence on 14 March 2026 and author of the essay published for the first time in Italy by Marsilio Arte, after its first publication in 2015 by Yale University Press.
Translated by Marco Cianchi, Mark Rothko. Dentro l’opera guides readers through the painter’s career with a narrative that combines personal memories, formal analysis and critical reflection. Psychologist and writer Christopher Rothko brings together eighteen texts written over more than ten years and focusing on his father’s entire oeuvre – from the figurative works of the 1930s to the neo-surrealist phase and the gradual deconstruction of forms and impressive paintings characterised by fields of colour. The story reveals the points of contact between Rothko’s work and the turning points in his life, while painting a portrait that is both human and professional.
Available in bookshops from 6 March 2026, the volume is part of Rothko in Florence, the major exhibition that will pay tribute to the connection between the artist and the Tuscan city from 14 March to 23 August 2026. Designed specifically for Palazzo Strozzi, the exhibition ‒ one of the largest in Italy dedicated to the painter ‒ celebrates Rothko’s extraordinary ability to use colour as a means of establishing a new spatial perception, beyond the two-dimensional limits of the canvas. Following a chronological itinerary, the exhibition takes visitors on a journey through Rothko’s artistic career, bringing together works from private collections and international museums such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington. In addition to Palazzo Strozzi, the exhibition also extends to two satellite sections in two places beloved by the artist: the Museo di San Marco, where the works dialogue with the frescoes by Beato Angelico, and the Vestibolo della Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana.

INFO
Rothko in Florence
14 March – 23 August 2026
PALAZZO STROZZI
Piazza Strozzi, Florence
https://www.palazzostrozzi.org/