Three rectangles of color with indistinct outlines float in a column on a nearly square canvas. In the mid-1940s Mark Rothko shifted from mythological and iconological imagery toward a fully abstract mode, and in the late 1940s arrived at his signature style as seen in this painting. Rothko became one of the most renowned Abstract Expressionist painters, and Number 28 is a classic work from his mature phase. At first glance its structure appears simple, but looking intently at the picture, the viewer is drawn into the profound depths of its subtly layered color planes. The work conveys a refined spirituality and almost religious sense of the sublime, like gazing upon the inner self.