Roy Lichtenstein

£8,000-£15,000 VALUE (EST.)

AUD15,000-AUD25,000 VALUE (EST.)

CAD10,000-CAD20,000 VALUE (EST.)

CNY60,000-CNY120,000 VALUE (EST.)

€9,000-€15,000 VALUE (EST.)

HKD70,000-HKD130,000 VALUE (EST.)

¥1,240,000-¥2,330,000 VALUE (EST.)

$9,000-$15,000 VALUE (EST.)

This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.

Meaning & Analysis

Roy Lichtenstein, an eminent figure of the Pop Art movement, created his Cathedral series in 1969. The artist was prompted by a photograph of Claude Monet’s 1894 series of oil paintings of the historic monument in Rouen, France.

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Monet captured the cathedral at various points of the day, in order to illustrate the temporal movement of light reflected against its architecture. His rhythmic impressionist brushwork makes a close predecessor to Lichtenstein's trademark use of Ben Day dots.

While Monet’s repetition sought to reaffirm the singularity of the Rouen Cathedral, Lichtenstein’s depiction of the monument in Cathedral 1 mechanises the subject matter. The image is refined into uniform light yellow dots, bringing the observer’s attention to the act of seeing over what is portrayed.

The artist utilises a particular planographic printing process in this work, in addition to his usual combination of lithography and screen print. As opposed to a raised surface or incised surface, the image of Cathedral 1 is built on an entirely flat plane. The desired areas are treated with a greasy substance, like tusche, which is a liquidised carbon pigment. As a result, certain parts of the surface will reject the ink, while others will be more receptive to it during the printing phase.