Roy Fox Lichtenstein

One of the first and most prominent representatives of Pop Art, which gained wide popularity in the USA in the 1950s and 60s of the 20th century. Roy Lichtenstein became famous for his comic book paintings, each of which reflects various aspects of the life of ordinary Americans. Using simple and understandable images, the artist challenged avant-garde painting, intelligible only to a few, and turned everyday things into real works of art.

Vivid and catchy works of the artist were constantly criticized by art historians and colleagues who refused to perceive the paintings of Lichtenstein as works of art, considering them vulgar and meaningless. Life magazine even called him “America’s worst artist”; despite that, Roy Lichtenstein became incredibly popular and gained a considerable number of followers.

The artist is also known as the creator of a series of paintings that are a repetition of the works of such famous artists as Van Gogh, Picasso and Monet, interpreted by the author in his simplified style. The debate about whether the work of Roy Lichtenstein is a genuine talent or simply a successful “advertising move” continues to this day. But the fact that the artist’s paintings are in demand and sold at auctions for a lot of money speaks of the importance and necessity of his work.

Key ideas:

– The artist used well-known images or objects familiar to every simple person of his time. The central objects of his compositions were comic book characters, attractive young girls from brochures and cartoon characters. Sometimes Roy Lichtenstein depicted inanimate objects. The central theme of the composition could well be a stove, a kettle or a meat grinder.

– The style of pop art, in which Lichtenstein worked, contrasted with the abstract expressionism that was widespread in the USA in the mid-20th century. The mysteriousness and pointlessness of his abstract works are not always perceived easily by the viewer, while decorative and expressive images taken from life evoke a direct and emotional response.

– Before starting work, Lichtenstein looked through a large number of magazines and other printed materials and chose the subjects he liked. Despite all the accusations of plagiarism, the artist never just copied the selected fragment or drawing. He always rethought the material, modified it (sometimes significantly) and created a finished composition that the public was always interested in.

– A characteristic feature of the paintings by Roy Lichtenstein is the presence of phrases and sounds in them. Like the comic book authors do, the artist placed letters and even whole sentences in the so-called “callouts”, in the form of clouds at the top of the picture. These elements explain the meaning of the depicted situation or enhance the effect of the painting. A striking example is the inscription “Whaam!” in his work of the same name, emphasizing the roar of the explosion.

– In his comic-book paintings, as well as in peculiar “reproductions” of paintings by famous artists, Lichtenstein used the simplification method. He used only simple colours: red, blue and yellow, and emphasized the shape of the object with a thick continuous contour. A branded feature of the artist’s manner is the use of raster dots, which are normally used in print, to create a certain volume and decorativeness in works.

– Some critics consider the work of Lichtenstein a parody of the modern consumer society, which is alien to thoughts about high. The artist himself refuted this opinion, arguing that where many see satire, he just depicted the things he liked.