Whaam!

The Tate Modern Gallery, London, the UK.

Oil, acrylic, canvas.

One of Lichtenstein’s most famous paintings is a diptych depicting aerial combat. During the Second World War, the artist served in Europe, and what he saw during the war formed the basis of the plot of the picture. On one side of it, there is an attacking plane that fires warheads; on the other side, there is an exploding enemy plane. The effect of the explosion is created by a bright red and orange paint, as well as a large inscription “WHAAM!” indicating a loud sound. A vertical streak of smoke combines the two pictures into a single whole. This is one of the largest canvases of Lichtenstein, the width of which is about four meters.