The Menil Collection. Part II. The Rothko Chapel.

The Rothko Chapel was conceived and founded by Dominique and John Menil, whose vision brought together art, architecture, and the sacred.

 For the Chapel, Rothko worked closely with architect Philip Johnson and then with Houston architects Howard Barnstone and Eugene Aubry to design an octagonal, sunlit space to encompass a group of fourteen paintings.

Fourteen majestic paintings created fro nthe space by Mark Rothko

"It is a place where a great artist, turned towards the Absolute, had the courage to paint almost nothing, and did it masterfully.It is a place blessed by the many people who gather there to meditate, to find themselves, and to go beyond themselves" 

American artist Barnett Newman´s colossal Broken Obelisk sculpure, a gift from the de Menils in honor of the Reverend Dr. Martín Luther King,Jr.

Neither Mark Rothko nor Barnett Newman lived to see their art installed at the Chapel.

Over the years, the Chapell has hosted some of the globe´s most profound artist, intellectuals, religious leaders, and human rights activists. Amiri Baraka. the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Brice Marden, Rigoberta Menchú, Pandir Pra Nath, Tariq Ramadan, Steve Reich, Susan Sontag, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and the Reverend James A. Forbes have been among the guest.







The Menil Collection is fully accessible and open to the public free  of charge every day of the year.