Marilyn Diptych
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The ''Marilyn Diptych'' ( 1962) is a
silkscreen Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open me ...
painting by American pop artist
Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...
depicting
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
. The monumental work is one of the artist's most noted of the movie star. The painting consists of 50 images. Each image of the actress is taken from the single publicity photograph from the film '' Niagara'' (1953). The underlying publicity photograph that Warhol used as a basis for his many paintings and prints of Marilyn, and the ''Marilyn Diptych'', was owned and distributed by her movie studio. ''Marilyn Diptych'' was completed just weeks after
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
's
death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
in August 1962.
Silk-screening Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mes ...
was the technique used to create this painting. The twenty-five images on the left are painted in color, the right side is black and white. The ''Marilyn Diptych'' is in the collection of the
Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
.


Analysis

It has been suggested that the relation between the left side of the canvas and the right side of the canvas is evocative of the relation between the celebrity's life and death. The work has received praise from writers such as American academic and cultural critic
Camille Paglia Camille Anna Paglia (; born April 2, 1947) is an American feminist academic and social critic. Paglia has been a professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since 1984. She is critical of many aspects of modern cultur ...
, who wrote in 2012's ''
Glittering Images ''Glittering Images: A Journey Through Art from Egypt to Star Wars'' is a 2012 book by American cultural critic Camille Paglia, in which the author discusses notable works of applied and visual art from ancient to modern times. Paglia wrote that ...
'' lauding how it shows the "multiplicity of meanings" in Monroe's life and legacy. In a December 2, 2004 article in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', the painting was named the third most influential piece of modern art in a survey of 500 artists, critics, and others. The artwork was also ranked ninth in the past 1,000 years by Kathleen Davenport, Director, Rice University Art Gallery, Houston.


Appropriation and fair use

Warhol is regarded as an artist known for the appropriation of images and he often made use of publicity photographs and publicly available photographs and motifs not owned by him, which often brought him into conflict with the owners of the source material. An example of this is Warhol's Marilyn series including the ''Marilyn Diptych'', which resulted in a settlement with the owner of the Marilyn Monroe publicity photograph which he used as the source material for the paintings. Warhol and his estate have settled many copyright disputes including with regard to his famous flowers paintings and paintings of Jackie Kennedy, as discussed in detail in "Andy The Appropriator: The Copyright Battles You Won't Hear About at The Whitney's Warhol Exhibit" from ''The Columbia Journal of Law & the Arts'':
"Although some of Warhol’s work was commissioned by individuals or companies, much of it was appropriated from other artists, photographers, and brands. Two of his most famous pieces, ''Marilyn Diptych'' and the collection of Campbell’s soup cans, are examples of his habit of appropriation. For the ''Marilyn'' series, Warhol took a promotional photograph of Marilyn Monroe and transferred it onto silkscreen print using different colors. He did not own the promotional photograph that he used and he did not have permission to use it. The resulting work was transformative enough that a strong fair use argument could be made today, but Warhol’s appropriation is undeniable. Similarly, Warhol used the Campbell’s Soup logo without permission from the company for dozens of silkscreen prints. Eventually, Campbell’s Soup tacitly approved of his use because of the free marketing they were receiving, but Warhol’s use of their logo without initial permission was still appropriation."


See also

* ''
Gold Marilyn Monroe ''Gold Marilyn Monroe'' is an art piece by Andy Warhol composed of a photograph of actress Marilyn Monroe's face centered on a large ( x ) gold-painted canvas. Warhol used silkscreen ink on synthetic polymer paint on canvas. It was completed in 1 ...
'', another 1962 work by Warhol featuring Monroe *
Diptych A diptych (; from the Greek δίπτυχον, ''di'' "two" + '' ptychē'' "fold") is any object with two flat plates which form a pair, often attached by hinge. For example, the standard notebook and school exercise book of the ancient world w ...


References


External links


Analysis of Andy Warhol's ''Marilyn Monroe'' Series (1967), including ''Maryiln Diptych'' (1962)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marilyn Diptych Collection of the Tate galleries 1962 paintings Paintings by Andy Warhol Cultural depictions of Marilyn Monroe Diptychs