An exhibition of Rothko's abstract paintings is being displayed at the Tate Modern.

The exhibition centres on the paintings created towards the end of Rothko's career, when the brightness of his earlier works had been replaced by depression, cynicism and morbidity. His colours schemes are mostly purple, brown and black.

It might not sound like a fun day out, but Rothko's paintings are enduringly popular. From the start of his career in the Fifties, Rothko has enjoyed acclaim from critics, collectors, and curators, all inspired by the intensity of his colours.

At the centre of the exhibition are The Seagrams, which have been borrowed from the Rothko room in Tate Britain.

At Rothko's request, the lighting is warmly dingy, as Rothko requested. The side rooms display preparatory drawings and scientific photographs of Rothko's paintings which explain how the Seagram Murals were painted, as well as three other late series, which appear to tell a story of the artist's growing distress.

Curators at The Tate have spent two years examining Rothko's paintings and have discovered that Rothko used raw canvases with thick fibres, instead of the usual smooth surfaces. He primed them unusually with a glue solution and on top of that he painted in thin layers of colour, so that one hue could be seen underneath another, deliberately "blurring" the edges of his rectangles with thin brushstrokes.