ROY LICHTENSTEIN, SUNSHINE THROUGH THE CLOUDS, LITHOGRAPH, SCREEN PRINT AND WOODCUT IN COLOURS ON ARCHES 88 WOVE PAPER, EDITION OF 60, 1985
Roy Lichtenstein revisited the landscape motif numerous times throughout his career. His vast Landscapes, Moonscapes and Seascapes comprise several individual series of prints. Sunshine Through the Clouds from 1985 belongs to the painterly Landscapes suite. The print mainly appropriates the formal attributes of landscape painting. However, it also imitates brushstrokes, thereby critiquing the idealised brushwork of the abstract expressionists.
In accordance with its title, Sunshine Through the Clouds depicts a reflective waterscape. The work relies on poignant details, as it presents a simple image charged with complex associations. The entire scene is composed of intersecting pastel-toned and primary coloured brushstrokes. The hand-painted sweeps interact energetically with the mechanical aspects of the artist’s own style. Consequently, the layout of the print becomes similarly abstracted as Lichtenstein’s concurrent Brushstroke Faces and Seven Apple Woodcuts.
It is with these stylised abstract expressionist brushstroke variations that Lichtenstein captures the essence of a natural setting. Translated into the conventional language of the landscape genre, the imitations appear instinctive and integrated. While Lichtenstein’s simulated painterly gestures symbolise shifting light and nature in motion, the detached cartoon elements produce spatial ambiguities. These strokes seem to have been cut out and pasted on, steering attention toward the surface texture of the work.
Read more about Landscapes, Moonscapes and Seascapes 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.
