Modern Head #4
Modern Head #4
Signed Print
Roy Lichtenstein
POA
This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
Lithograph, 1970
Signed Print Edition of 100
H 53cm x W 43cm
Critical Review
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.
Similar to the layout of Modern Head #2, Modern Head #4 presents a flat black plane as its base. Adorned with black and gray areas of dots, it also features diagonal and vertical silver stripes and white and silver curvilinear geometric forms. The print further expands Modern Head #3’s composition of a mechanised human figure, blending an industrial look with cubist components. Moreover, the work has been engraved and anodized on aluminium, which means that the ink has been sealed below the surface of the material. In turn, this method yields a finish that is highly resistant to tear and wear, further enforcing Lichtenstein’s robotic aesthetic.
