Marilyn Diptych
Encyclopedia
The Marilyn Diptych is a silkscreen painting by American pop artist Andy Warhol
.
's death in August 1962. It contains fifty images of the actress, which are all based on a single publicity photograph from the film Niagara
(1953).
The twenty-five pictures on the left side of the diptych
are brightly colored, while the twenty-five on the right are in black and white, and also blurred or faded. The juxtaposition of the color images with those in black and white is sometimes thought to symbolize Monroe's life and mortality. The black and white pictures can also be said to represent her career in film or the photographs of her in magazines.
The piece is currently on display at Tate Liverpool
. In a December 2, 2004 article in The Guardian
, the painting was named the third most influential piece of modern art in a survey of 500 artists, critics, and others.
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
.
History and analysis
The work was completed during the weeks after Marilyn MonroeMarilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
's death in August 1962. It contains fifty images of the actress, which are all based on a single publicity photograph from the film Niagara
Niagara (1953 film)
Niagara is a 1953 thriller-film noir directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters, and introducing Marilyn Monroe. Unlike other film noirs of the time, Niagara was shot in Technicolor on location and was one of 20th Century Fox's biggest box-office hits of the year.-Plot:Ray...
(1953).
The twenty-five pictures on the left side of the diptych
Diptych
A diptych di "two" + ptychē "fold") is any object with two flat plates attached at a hinge. Devices of this form were quite popular in the ancient world, wax tablets being coated with wax on inner faces, for recording notes and for measuring time and direction.In Late Antiquity, ivory diptychs with...
are brightly colored, while the twenty-five on the right are in black and white, and also blurred or faded. The juxtaposition of the color images with those in black and white is sometimes thought to symbolize Monroe's life and mortality. The black and white pictures can also be said to represent her career in film or the photographs of her in magazines.
The piece is currently on display at Tate Liverpool
Tate Liverpool
Tate Liverpool is an art gallery and museum in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, and part of Tate, along with Tate St Ives, Cornwall, Tate Britain, London, and Tate Modern, London. The museum was an initiative of the Merseyside Development Corporation...
. In a December 2, 2004 article in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, the painting was named the third most influential piece of modern art in a survey of 500 artists, critics, and others.