Marilyn Diptych

Marilyn Diptych

Artist	Andy Warhol
Year	1962
Type	Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions	205.44 cm × 289.56 cm (80.88 in × 114.00 in)
Location	Tate Gallery, London

The Marilyn Diptych (1962) is a silkscreen painting by American pop artist Andy Warhol.

History and analysis

The work was completed during the weeks after Marilyn Monroe'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.^[1] The black and white pictures can also be said to represent her career in film^[2] or the photographs of her in magazines.^[3]

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.^[4]

Notes

1. ^ Marilyn Diptych. Tate Collection. 2004. Retrieved on September 3, 2008.
2. ^ Helen Gardner, et al. Gardner's Art Through the Ages. Thompson Wadsworth, 2004. 1054.
3. ^ Carol Salus. "Behind the Celestial Enchantment". The Poetry of Life in Literature. Ed. Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka. Springer, 2000. 198.
4. ^ Charlotte Higgins. "Work of art that inspired a movement ... a urinal". The Guardian. December 2, 2004. Retrieved on September 3, 2008.