Rothko's compositions

Many of Rothko's paintings comprise wide horizontal bands of diffuse color.  To me, they are peaceful and contemplative.  What about vertical bands of color?  To me, they conjure up action and movement.  Perhaps there is a physiological = psychological basis for this difference.  When we scan up and down with our eyes we are usually taking in information from a object at rest. When we scan sideways we are often following a moving object or words on a page. Can the same be said of poetry which scans vertically compared to non poetic text?  Reliefs below: 2016-2 Bayview #1 and 2015-30 Nickerson #1