Hans Christian Andersen (F. & S. II.396)
Hans Christian Andersen (F. & S. II.396)
Signed Print
Andy Warhol
97 x 97cm, Edition of 25, Screenprint, 1987
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Meaning & Analysis
Hans Christian Andersen (F. & S. II.396) is a 1987 screenprint by Andy Warhol of a squatting, wide-legged figure who balances a tray bearing a small town and a church spire. The form is printed in periwinkle blue and mint green with red outlines, against a grey ground with black brushwork at the upper right. The work is signed and published in an edition of 25.
This is the most animated image in the Hans Christian Andersen portfolio and, like the others, it appears to derive from a paper-cut silhouette. The figure crouches with knees splayed, arms raised and an open mouth, holding up a horizontal bar. On the bar sit a row of stepped gables on the left, a small fish-like creature at the centre and a church spire on the right, while a tail-like curl projects from the end of the right arm. Small cut-outs on the torso read as buttons.
In this first-set colourway the figure is printed in a bright periwinkle blue with pale mint highlights down the left side. A fine red line runs around the edges. The ground is a flat, neutral grey, so the figure stands out as an almost luminous object. A mass of black gestural brushwork at the upper right gives the composition a counterweight and balances the weight of the tray.
The same image appears on a dark ground in F. & S. II.400 with warm reds and yellows, the contrast between the two is considerable. Here the effect is cooler and more graphic, closer to a poster than to an illustration.
