ROY LICHTENSTEIN, RED APPLE, SEVEN APPLE WOODCUT SERIES, WOODCUT PRINTED IN COLOURS, EDITION OF 60, 1983
Roy Lichtenstein’s Red Apple was created as part of his Seven Apple Woodcuts of 1983. In this sequence, the artist turns his attention to the autographic mark-making of abstract expressionists and the ingrained concept of still lifes. The Seven Apple Woodcuts abstract the composition of Lichtenstein’s Six Still Lifes of 1974. The series also sets the tone for the artist’s later exploration of painterly gestures in his Brushstroke Faces of 1989.
Red Apple does not attempt to commodify brushwork according to Lichtenstein’s signature aesthetic. The backdrop of the print is entirely white and stripped of all patterns. Stylistically familiar areas are scarce in this work, but its rich colour palette is distinctly ‘Lichtensteinian’. The contours of the simplistic apple in the middle of the composition are achieved through bold simulations of black brushstrokes. The outlines are disrupted in several places, letting the dark red colour spill out over the bottom half of the canvas.
There is a rhythm to Lichtenstein’s energetic sweeps, as he ridicules abstract expressionist beliefs regarding the power of brushwork. The unrefined quality of his imitation makes the beholder forget that the work is in fact a woodcut. Lichtenstein reduces the inanimate object to an essential shape, trusting that the beholder will recognise the subject matter all the same. He follows in the footsteps of renaissance and impressionist masters, demonstrating the endurance of still lifes as an art historical genre.
Read more about Seven Apple Woodcut series by Roy Lichtenstein.
ABOUT ROY LICHTENSTEIN
Born in Manhattan in 1923, Roy Lichtenstein was a leading figure in the Pop Art movement during the second half of the 20th century. His distinctive artistic style is inspired by the visual language of consumerism and advertising that pervaded American popular culture at the time, and his work recalls a society of widespread commercialism that has remained powerfully relevant to this day. Learn more about Roy Lichtenstein.
