The Rothko Chapel Houston TX

My husband and I were recently looking for something different to do on a Sunday afternoon.  We decided to visit the Rothko Chapel, located at 3900 Yupon Street in Houston.  He had read an article about interesting buildings and art in a Texas Montly Magazine.  I really didn't know what to expect but I do know that what I saw was way beyond anything I could have possibly imagined.  Now, that's neither good nor bad.  I'll leave it up to you.  Here's a little background information on the Chapel:

Frenchmen Dominque Schlumberger and John de Menil left France during WWll and ended up in Houston.  They were civil and human rights advocates as well as leaders in Houston's cultural life, with particular interest in architecture and art.  In 1964, they commissioned Mark Rothko to create a sacred place. 

Mark Rothko was a Russian-born Jew who came to the United States at a young age.  He became an established artist in New York City during the '40's and '50's.  Rothko worked closely with architect Philip Johnson and then with Houston architects Howard Barnstoneand Eugene Aubry on the Chapel which was designed to his specifications.  He painted fourteen monumental canvases to hang in the octagonal, sunlit space.   The de Menil commission allowed Rothko the opportunity to create a total art space.

The Chapel opened to the public in 1971.  Sadly, Rothko didn't live to see his art installed in the Chapel.  He committed suicide on February 25, 1970.

I found the Rothko Chapel to be a quiet place, almost cave-like, dim with little light.  The interior walls are heavily stuccoed with thin, elongated windows near the ceiling which is slightly domed shaped.  The floor is concrete.  Benches and prayer mats for quiet contemplation and prayer are in the center of the room. 

Once I got over the initial shock of seeing 14 very large seemingly all black canvases hanging and wondering how in the world one could call this art, I was ready to go.  I had seen enough. 

Thank goodness my husband wasn't about to budge.  He was taking it all in and understanding what he was seeing.  Then, a magical thing happened.  My eyes adjusted to the dim light. 

As I was trying to unlock the mystery of the black paintings, the light changed and the paintings did too!  I could now see blocks of purple and reds within or surrounding the blocks of black.  Then, the lighting changed again, dimmer now and so did the paintings.  The reds and purples were fading into a blackness.  It was an ever changing, subtle process that continued to both mystify and intrigue me. 

It's amazing what happens when you shed a little light on a subject.  What you think you see at first may not be what's really there.   

If you're looking to buy or sell real estate in the Montgomery County TX area, give me a call or drop me an email.  I'll be more than happy to shed a little light.