Blonde Bombshell

You may not know his name, but it’s very likely that you have seen his work.

Andy Warhol was a successful commercial artist in the 1960s. With his work in advertising, fashion, music, magazine publishing, photography and printing, he blurred the lines between fine art and mainstream culture. Warhol introduced Pop Art to the world with his unique style. ‘Marilyn Diptych’ is one of his most recognizable and best-known works. 

Marilyn Monroe was a famous Hollywood actress, often labeled a ‘sex symbol’. Not long after Marilyn tragically passed away at the age of 36, at the height of her career, Warhol began to create what would become his most recognized silkscreen prints. All artworks, more than twenty, were based on the same publicity photograph from the 1953 film noir ‘Niagara’ in which Marilyn starred in the lead role, Rose Loomis. 

Half the paintings in the ‘Marilyn Diptych’ series were heavily painted in contrast bright colors while the other half were black and white. Warhol cleverly highlighted Marilyn’s most distinguishable features: her lips, her platinum blonde hair, and her beauty mark.

Warhol’s ‘Marilyn Diptych’ pointed to her ubiquitous celebrity and short life. The vivid colored prints brought out her status as an icon of the time, while the black and white reminded us of her untimely death.