Modern Head #1
Modern Head #1
Signed Print
Roy Lichtenstein
£17,000-£25,000
$35,000-$50,000 Value Indicator
$30,000-$45,000 Value Indicator
¥160,000-¥240,000 Value Indicator
€20,000-€29,000 Value Indicator
$180,000-$260,000 Value Indicator
¥3,380,000-¥4,970,000 Value Indicator
$23,000-$35,000 Value Indicator
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51 x 32cm, Edition of 100, Woodcut
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Meaning & Analysis
Roy Lichtenstein rose to prominence in the 1960s with his humorous cartoon imagery, promptly followed by his appropriations of art historical genres. His Modern Head series of 1970 references modern masters of Cubism, Constructivism and Art Deco among others. In addition to a set of five Modern Head prints, Lichtenstein also created a limited number of Modern Head sculptures.
The Modern Head prints seek to critically dismantle the history of modern art, through a formal idea particularly favoured by Lichtenstein; impure style. Accordingly, Lichtenstein’s Modern Heads are founded on both artistic and architectural sources. The prints allude to painterly gestures and sculptural anatomy, as well as facade ornamentation and interior design. Each work in the Modern Head series was produced using a different and distinct printing method, ranging from woodcut to embossing.
The Modern Heads grows all the more figurative throughout the sequence, and Modern Head #1 therefore exhibits the most abstract print. Lichtenstein presents a geometrical portrait in strong primary colours, composed of a cluster of vertical and diagonal shapes. Dotted curved areas and regularised stripes signify tone and texture, but the overall impression remains flattened.Modern Head #1requires heightened optical concentration from the viewer to distinguish its composition, which tries to balance between dynamic and static elements.