Palazzo Strozzi To Unveil Landmark Mark Rothko Retrospective in March

Summary

• Palazzo Strozzi will unveil a major Mark Rothko retrospective in Florence on March 14, 2026
• Over 70 works explore his connection to the Italian Renaissance and artists like Fra Angelico
• The exhibition will remain on view through August 23, 2026

In spring, the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi will host one of the most significant retrospectives ever dedicated to Mark Rothko, the undisputed master of American modern art, aptly titled Rothko in Florence. Curated by the artist’s son, Christopher Rothko and Elena Geuna, the exhibition is a unique project specifically conceived for Florence to celebrate the profound relationship between the artist and the city. This landmark showcase retraces Rothko’s entire career through over 70 works on loan from prestigious international institutions, including MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Tate and the Centre Pompidou.

The exhibition highlights Rothko’s fascination with the Italian Renaissance, a passion ignited during his first visit to Florence in 1950. In a city-wide dialogue, the retrospective extends beyond the grand rooms of Palazzo Strozzi into two symbolic satellite locations: the Museo di San Marco, where Rothko’s work will be presented alongside the frescoes of Fra Angelico and the vestibule of the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, whose architecture by Michelangelo famously inspired his creation of the “Seagram Murals.” These interventions explore how Rothko translated the “tension between classical measure and expressive freedom” into a renewed perception of space that transcends the flat canvas.

Notable artworks featured in the retrospective span from his early figurative pieces of the 1930s to his ethereal color field paintings of the 1950s and 60s. A central highlight is the inclusion of “No. 3/No. 13 (1949)”, a seminal oil painting from the MoMA collection that marks his definitive shift toward the abstract masses for which he is most celebrated. Other standouts include works rarely seen in Italy, such as “Interior (1936)”, alongside numerous large-scale canvases that immerse the viewer in his unique language of spirituality, poetry, and color.

The Rothko in Florence exhibition will open from March 14 to August 23, 2026 at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, Italy.

Palazzo Strozzi
Piazza Strozzi
50123 Florence, Italy