Later Warhols (from 1967 to 1987)
See also : Warhol Celebrities by Warhol Self portrait Groups Christianity
Chronology : 1967 1970-1979 1972 1980-1989 1986
Chronology : 1967 1970-1979 1972 1980-1989 1986
1967 Warhol emerges from the Shadows
2011 SOLD 10.8 M£ including premium
Already famous for the portraits of his favorite celebrities, Marilyn and Liz, Warhol builds his pantheon. His art is known, but not his face. Andy decides that his self-portraits have to be part of his major works.
His first tests shows him too juvenile or too ordinary. In 1966, a photograph (which was not preserved) gives him the right choice. The attitude with fingers over the mouth is enigmatic. Half his face in the shadow hides the fact that aged less than 40 years he still looks quite young.
Andy, in his already usual practice, executes infinite variations, with psychedelic colors. Then in 1967 he finally dares to make this self-portrait in large size, 1.83 x 1.83 m.
It was believed that he made ten variants. An eleventh appears at Christie's for sale on February 16 in London. Curiously, this painting that had belonged to his dealer Castelli had remained unpublished. It now comes from an estate and has been approved by the Andy Warhol Authentication Board.
This piece of acrylic and silkscreen ink in a bold red is illustrated in the article shared by The Telegraph. It is estimated £ 3M, cautiously.
POST SALE COMMENT
Without being one of the top icons of the art of Warhol, this painting belongs to a significant phase of his work, and moreover it was fresh on the market. It was sold £ 10.8M including premium.
His first tests shows him too juvenile or too ordinary. In 1966, a photograph (which was not preserved) gives him the right choice. The attitude with fingers over the mouth is enigmatic. Half his face in the shadow hides the fact that aged less than 40 years he still looks quite young.
Andy, in his already usual practice, executes infinite variations, with psychedelic colors. Then in 1967 he finally dares to make this self-portrait in large size, 1.83 x 1.83 m.
It was believed that he made ten variants. An eleventh appears at Christie's for sale on February 16 in London. Curiously, this painting that had belonged to his dealer Castelli had remained unpublished. It now comes from an estate and has been approved by the Andy Warhol Authentication Board.
This piece of acrylic and silkscreen ink in a bold red is illustrated in the article shared by The Telegraph. It is estimated £ 3M, cautiously.
POST SALE COMMENT
Without being one of the top icons of the art of Warhol, this painting belongs to a significant phase of his work, and moreover it was fresh on the market. It was sold £ 10.8M including premium.
1972 From Marilyn to Mao
2015 SOLD for $ 48M including premium
Andy Warhol was not active in politics but his Democratic and popular sympathies are known. The first idol of his artistic career, Marilyn, was close to Kennedy. He multiplies her image to offer it posthumously to a modern mystic idolatry.
After 1964 Warhol significantly reduces his activity as a painter to try to become an idol for others through the show business. It was not his best idea. His trend toward the underground went against such a purpose and his temperament certainly did not favor his acceptance in the jet set.
Pushed by Bischofberger, Warhol is back to painting in 1972. He needs a new star able to match Marilyn. He hesitates on Einstein and chooses Mao.
Mao by Warhol is an American political message. Nixon announced his candidacy for a presidential re-election just before his trip to China. When shaking hands with Mao, Nixon appears as a statesman of the same importance as the Great Helmsman. This does not please Warhol.
As for Marilyn, Warhol chooses an ancient image. Unlike Marilyn, Mao's image was universally known before Warhol reused it : held up since 1949 by millions of Chinese, it illustrates the Little Red Book. It is a thorn to Nixon : watch this undemocratic idol that Americans are now invited to admire. In five sizes and all colors, the Maos of Warhol, in their official dignity, do not express any feeling.
Warhol is still working in screen print and acrylic, but his technique has changed. The brushstroke is visible, contributing to the energy of the artwork. Again, Warhol was wrong. This new process is taking too long and his art is gradually less cared when he extends the series.
The first Mao by Warhol, achieved without the help of an assistant, is indeed the best painting in that theme. This picture 208 x 145 cm is for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 11, lot 11 (11-11-11). The press release of October 2 announced an estimate in the region of $ 40M.
After 1964 Warhol significantly reduces his activity as a painter to try to become an idol for others through the show business. It was not his best idea. His trend toward the underground went against such a purpose and his temperament certainly did not favor his acceptance in the jet set.
Pushed by Bischofberger, Warhol is back to painting in 1972. He needs a new star able to match Marilyn. He hesitates on Einstein and chooses Mao.
Mao by Warhol is an American political message. Nixon announced his candidacy for a presidential re-election just before his trip to China. When shaking hands with Mao, Nixon appears as a statesman of the same importance as the Great Helmsman. This does not please Warhol.
As for Marilyn, Warhol chooses an ancient image. Unlike Marilyn, Mao's image was universally known before Warhol reused it : held up since 1949 by millions of Chinese, it illustrates the Little Red Book. It is a thorn to Nixon : watch this undemocratic idol that Americans are now invited to admire. In five sizes and all colors, the Maos of Warhol, in their official dignity, do not express any feeling.
Warhol is still working in screen print and acrylic, but his technique has changed. The brushstroke is visible, contributing to the energy of the artwork. Again, Warhol was wrong. This new process is taking too long and his art is gradually less cared when he extends the series.
The first Mao by Warhol, achieved without the help of an assistant, is indeed the best painting in that theme. This picture 208 x 145 cm is for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 11, lot 11 (11-11-11). The press release of October 2 announced an estimate in the region of $ 40M.
1972 A Tri-Colored Mao
2017 SOLD for $ 32.4M including premium
Anxious since the almost successful murder attempt against him in 1968, Andy Warhol changed his life : he is now a recluse and hardly works anymore. Art dealers are impatient. In 1972 Bischofberger suggests to him to find a new iconic theme.
Andy chooses the only picture in the world that has been distributed in hundreds of millions of copies : the official three-color portrait of Mao Zedong which among other uses illustrates the Little Red Book. Mao succeeded for the popular imagery the unlimited multiplication that Andy had dreamed with his Marilyn's. The historic handshake between Mao and Nixon early in the same year may be just a coincidence.
Andy painted eleven similar Mao's in 1972, 208 cm high with a slightly variable width. The lines and the proportions in relation to the frame are comparable to the official image with the exception of the shadow that invades the left cheek and the chin. The artist changed the color of the tunic and of the background.
A brilliant and carefully executed picture considered as the prototype of that series, 208 x 145 cm, was sold for $ 48M including premium by Sotheby's on November 11, 2015. A Mao 208 x 155 cm was sold for $ 17.4M including premium by Christie's on November 15, 2006. On November 16 in New York, Sotheby's sells a Mao 208 x 152 cm, lot 45 estimated $ 30M.
In the following year Warhol multiplies his Mao's with smaller formats and new color variants. Mao's head, proportionally smaller, has lost the dignity of the official portrait. One of them with a dark red tunic and a black background was sold for $ 13.5M including premium by Phillips de Pury on November 15, 2012 and for $ 14.5M including premium by Sotheby's on May 12, 2015.
Andy chooses the only picture in the world that has been distributed in hundreds of millions of copies : the official three-color portrait of Mao Zedong which among other uses illustrates the Little Red Book. Mao succeeded for the popular imagery the unlimited multiplication that Andy had dreamed with his Marilyn's. The historic handshake between Mao and Nixon early in the same year may be just a coincidence.
Andy painted eleven similar Mao's in 1972, 208 cm high with a slightly variable width. The lines and the proportions in relation to the frame are comparable to the official image with the exception of the shadow that invades the left cheek and the chin. The artist changed the color of the tunic and of the background.
A brilliant and carefully executed picture considered as the prototype of that series, 208 x 145 cm, was sold for $ 48M including premium by Sotheby's on November 11, 2015. A Mao 208 x 155 cm was sold for $ 17.4M including premium by Christie's on November 15, 2006. On November 16 in New York, Sotheby's sells a Mao 208 x 152 cm, lot 45 estimated $ 30M.
In the following year Warhol multiplies his Mao's with smaller formats and new color variants. Mao's head, proportionally smaller, has lost the dignity of the official portrait. One of them with a dark red tunic and a black background was sold for $ 13.5M including premium by Phillips de Pury on November 15, 2012 and for $ 14.5M including premium by Sotheby's on May 12, 2015.
1973 A Western Portrait of the Great Helmsman
2017 SOLD for HK$ 99M including premium
Many Chinese people are still hurt by Mao's portrait interpreted by Warhol more than 40 years ago in multiple paintings and prints. Nevertheless Sotheby's goes boldly into the adventure by offering a painting from that series in Hong Kong on April 2, lot 1030 estimated HK$ 90M.
I discussed as follows the same piece when it was sold for £ 7.6M including premium by Sotheby's on February 12, 2014 (except that I am introducing in that essay a later result on a bigger canvas).
Andy Warhol gradually stopped painting after three years of frenetic creation, 1962 to 1964, to try the troubled life of a businessman and moviemaker attracted by the underground.
For a successful come back to graphic art in 1972, he needed a theme as bold and as contemporary than his earlier Marilyn and Liz. He chose China and its unique symbol universally prevalent at that time, the official portrait of Mao.
Chance or genius? On that year, through the historic meeting of Mao and Nixon, Americans had their eyes turned to China. Warhol was not a supporter of Nixon and left the figure of the U.S. President totally away from his new project.
Although his Mao's are a pastiche of the official image and may therefore hit the Chinese sensibilities, Warhol is in this series a rather impartial observer of the Cultural Revolution, of Soviet style imaging, of the almost octogenarian face of the Great Helmsman and of the inevitable Mao collar designed as a challenge of the proletarians against the Western tie.
A large size Mao painted in 1972, 208 x 145 cm, was sold for $ 48M including premium by Sotheby's on November 11, 2015.
In the following year, 1973, Warhol multiplied his Mao while reducing the size, executing 28 paintings 127 x 107 cm.
Same as in his earlier themes, the artist demonstrates that different colors can change the message. Mao's images in red tunic are a very close evocation to the official ideology. One of them on a night blue background was sold for $ 13.5 million including premium by Phillips de Pury on November 15, 2012.
On a neutral background, the painting for sale is very similar with Mao also wearing the red tunic. This opus is characterized by the dramatic lighting of the face brimming to the left like a divine halo.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's before the 2014 sale.
I discussed as follows the same piece when it was sold for £ 7.6M including premium by Sotheby's on February 12, 2014 (except that I am introducing in that essay a later result on a bigger canvas).
Andy Warhol gradually stopped painting after three years of frenetic creation, 1962 to 1964, to try the troubled life of a businessman and moviemaker attracted by the underground.
For a successful come back to graphic art in 1972, he needed a theme as bold and as contemporary than his earlier Marilyn and Liz. He chose China and its unique symbol universally prevalent at that time, the official portrait of Mao.
Chance or genius? On that year, through the historic meeting of Mao and Nixon, Americans had their eyes turned to China. Warhol was not a supporter of Nixon and left the figure of the U.S. President totally away from his new project.
Although his Mao's are a pastiche of the official image and may therefore hit the Chinese sensibilities, Warhol is in this series a rather impartial observer of the Cultural Revolution, of Soviet style imaging, of the almost octogenarian face of the Great Helmsman and of the inevitable Mao collar designed as a challenge of the proletarians against the Western tie.
A large size Mao painted in 1972, 208 x 145 cm, was sold for $ 48M including premium by Sotheby's on November 11, 2015.
In the following year, 1973, Warhol multiplied his Mao while reducing the size, executing 28 paintings 127 x 107 cm.
Same as in his earlier themes, the artist demonstrates that different colors can change the message. Mao's images in red tunic are a very close evocation to the official ideology. One of them on a night blue background was sold for $ 13.5 million including premium by Phillips de Pury on November 15, 2012.
On a neutral background, the painting for sale is very similar with Mao also wearing the red tunic. This opus is characterized by the dramatic lighting of the face brimming to the left like a divine halo.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's before the 2014 sale.
1986 Sacrifice and Sharing
2017 SOLD for $ 61M including premium
Shy and famous at the same time, Andy Warhol was discussing with friends throughout his career before selecting his most popular themes. The story of the dollar at the very beginning of his realization of multiples is typical. In 1985 the gallery owner Alexander Iolas suggests a new theme of interpretations of Leonardo's Last Supper to be exhibited in Milan across the street from the permanent location of the original.
Warhol is working hard on this project that had everything to seduce him. For devout Catholics the Last Supper is the founding act of the mystical Christianity by which Christ announces his death and resurrection and especially his sharing with the whole mankind.
Warhol had himself something like a resurrection in 1968 when his heart restarted after the assassination attempt. He felt that he was going to die during the surgical operation of his gallbladder which was inevitable but was constantly postponed by him. This intuition was right.
In that impulse Warhol realized about 100 variations around Leonardo's Last Supper in 1986 while about 20 were enough for the Milan exhibition. He did not take as model the original painting but two poor photographs of old copies. This final project brilliantly terminates his own pop art revolution by which the visual message and the ability to copy and multiply it are more important than the skill even when the artist is Leonardo himself.
This series includes a few monumental pieces in a perfect repetition that reaches the infinite. Christ 112 times in yellow which is a reproduction of a detail measures 203 x 1069 cm. This artwork was sold for $ 9.5M including premium by Sotheby's on May 14, 2008.
On November 15 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 13 B a multiplication of the entire picture, Sixty Last Suppers. This 295 x 998 cm canvas which is undoubtedly the largest in the series and perhaps even in his entire career in terms of surface was not included in the Milan exhibition. Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
Warhol is working hard on this project that had everything to seduce him. For devout Catholics the Last Supper is the founding act of the mystical Christianity by which Christ announces his death and resurrection and especially his sharing with the whole mankind.
Warhol had himself something like a resurrection in 1968 when his heart restarted after the assassination attempt. He felt that he was going to die during the surgical operation of his gallbladder which was inevitable but was constantly postponed by him. This intuition was right.
In that impulse Warhol realized about 100 variations around Leonardo's Last Supper in 1986 while about 20 were enough for the Milan exhibition. He did not take as model the original painting but two poor photographs of old copies. This final project brilliantly terminates his own pop art revolution by which the visual message and the ability to copy and multiply it are more important than the skill even when the artist is Leonardo himself.
This series includes a few monumental pieces in a perfect repetition that reaches the infinite. Christ 112 times in yellow which is a reproduction of a detail measures 203 x 1069 cm. This artwork was sold for $ 9.5M including premium by Sotheby's on May 14, 2008.
On November 15 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 13 B a multiplication of the entire picture, Sixty Last Suppers. This 295 x 998 cm canvas which is undoubtedly the largest in the series and perhaps even in his entire career in terms of surface was not included in the Milan exhibition. Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
1986 The Apotheosis of Andy Warhol
2010 SOLD 32.5 M$ including premium
Andy Warhol, observer of events and of top people of this world, did not fail to look also at himself. Like Dali before him, and like Lagerfeld today, he made his own person a work of art out of usual standards.
His last series of self-portraits, done in 1986, is famous. The face is pale, the eyes are fixed, his cheeks are hollow and the hair is long and shaggy. The artist knew he was aging, but he could not imagine being so close to his sudden death.
This image takes the meaning of an apotheosis. Warhol is no longer human, he is being transformed into a half-god of contemporary art.
The purple painting for sale by Sotheby's in New York on May 12, 2.70 x 2.70 m, is one of the largest in the series. Its color is sinister and captivating. It is announced at $ 10 million. The press release and image of the lot are shared by AuctionPublicity.
POST SALE COMMENT
The king of the sales of this week in New York was Warhol. Warhol himself! This fabulous self-portrait was sold $ 32.5 million including premium.
His last series of self-portraits, done in 1986, is famous. The face is pale, the eyes are fixed, his cheeks are hollow and the hair is long and shaggy. The artist knew he was aging, but he could not imagine being so close to his sudden death.
This image takes the meaning of an apotheosis. Warhol is no longer human, he is being transformed into a half-god of contemporary art.
The purple painting for sale by Sotheby's in New York on May 12, 2.70 x 2.70 m, is one of the largest in the series. Its color is sinister and captivating. It is announced at $ 10 million. The press release and image of the lot are shared by AuctionPublicity.
POST SALE COMMENT
The king of the sales of this week in New York was Warhol. Warhol himself! This fabulous self-portrait was sold $ 32.5 million including premium.
1986 Six Shaggy Wigs
2018 SOLD for £ 22.6M including premium
A set of six small size self portraits with fright wig by Warhol was sold for $ 30M including premium by Sotheby's on May 14, 2014, lot 23. It had been illustrated by Sotheby's in a pre sale video. Still complete from its original configuration it is now offered by Christie's in London on March 6, lot 9.
These six acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas 56 x 56 cm display the same image, each one in another color.
I narrated this famous image as follows before the 2014 sale :
The two major themes of multiples that made Andy Warhol busy in 1986 are so opposite that it is worth putting them face to face.
On one side, Leonardo's Last Supper with Christ as the central character, also processed in detailed enlargement, dignified and doctoral.
On the other side, the last self-portrait, head cut under the chin with the shaggy hair (or wig) of a mad man. The lines of the face are wasted as if they announced the next transformation of the artist into a skeleton.
Andy had ever wished to moralize the society. He is exhausted by the beginning of the disease. He is facing the Christ of whom he now knows that he cannot be a reincarnation.
This portrait is a masterpiece of self-mockery. In his usual practice Andy prepared it in various sizes and colors. The smaller were intended to be kept in series in a sequence of hanging defined by the artist.
The bigger pictures 270 x 270 cm were twice featured at auction. The terrible red version was sold for $ 27.5 million including premium by Christie's on 11 May 2011. The disturbing purple portrait was sold for $ 32.5 million including premium by Sotheby's on May 12, 2010.
A set of three mid-size 102 x 102 cm each was sold for £ 11.5 million including premium by Sotheby's on February 27, 2008, a high price at a time when the British currency was worth almost two dollars.
These six acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas 56 x 56 cm display the same image, each one in another color.
I narrated this famous image as follows before the 2014 sale :
The two major themes of multiples that made Andy Warhol busy in 1986 are so opposite that it is worth putting them face to face.
On one side, Leonardo's Last Supper with Christ as the central character, also processed in detailed enlargement, dignified and doctoral.
On the other side, the last self-portrait, head cut under the chin with the shaggy hair (or wig) of a mad man. The lines of the face are wasted as if they announced the next transformation of the artist into a skeleton.
Andy had ever wished to moralize the society. He is exhausted by the beginning of the disease. He is facing the Christ of whom he now knows that he cannot be a reincarnation.
This portrait is a masterpiece of self-mockery. In his usual practice Andy prepared it in various sizes and colors. The smaller were intended to be kept in series in a sequence of hanging defined by the artist.
The bigger pictures 270 x 270 cm were twice featured at auction. The terrible red version was sold for $ 27.5 million including premium by Christie's on 11 May 2011. The disturbing purple portrait was sold for $ 32.5 million including premium by Sotheby's on May 12, 2010.
A set of three mid-size 102 x 102 cm each was sold for £ 11.5 million including premium by Sotheby's on February 27, 2008, a high price at a time when the British currency was worth almost two dollars.
1986 The Red Icon
2011 SOLD 27.5 M$ including premium
Andy Warhol would be both the last modern artist and the first contemporary artist, wouln't he? His self-portraits of 1986 are increasingly in a position to be considered as major icons of twentieth century art.
After showing images of the world as in the magazines, Warhol created a different masterpiece. This haggard and unkempt self-portrait offset the expectations of well-thinking people in the same way as, many years before, the famous photo of Einstein sticking out his tongue.
Five paintings were executed simultaneously, showing the same image of the face of the aging artist on a black background, respectively in green, blue, purple, yellow and red.
The sale of the purple version, 2.70 x 2.70 m, by Sotheby's on May 12, 2010, was a revelation. Estimated $ 10M, this work was sold $ 32.5 million including premium. The pre-sale press release indicated that only one other version was still in private hands.
The red Warhol, same size, is for sale by Christie's in New York on May 11. It is estimated $ 30M. The image is shared by Art Market Monitor.
POST SALE COMMENT
The availability of the purple version last year had created a indisputable surprise. Sold for $ 27.5 million including premium, the red Warhol has not reached the price of its predecessor.
After showing images of the world as in the magazines, Warhol created a different masterpiece. This haggard and unkempt self-portrait offset the expectations of well-thinking people in the same way as, many years before, the famous photo of Einstein sticking out his tongue.
Five paintings were executed simultaneously, showing the same image of the face of the aging artist on a black background, respectively in green, blue, purple, yellow and red.
The sale of the purple version, 2.70 x 2.70 m, by Sotheby's on May 12, 2010, was a revelation. Estimated $ 10M, this work was sold $ 32.5 million including premium. The pre-sale press release indicated that only one other version was still in private hands.
The red Warhol, same size, is for sale by Christie's in New York on May 11. It is estimated $ 30M. The image is shared by Art Market Monitor.
POST SALE COMMENT
The availability of the purple version last year had created a indisputable surprise. Sold for $ 27.5 million including premium, the red Warhol has not reached the price of its predecessor.
1986 The Shaggy Deity of Pop Art
2016 SOLD for $ 24.4M including premium
Andy Warhol was a devout Catholic. His multiplication of identical pictures of Marilyn throughout his career and of Mao in 1972 and 1973 may be interpreted as an attempt to have some of his images becoming as recognizable as Christ on the cross.
In the 1960s Andy also processed his self-portraits as a shy man half hidden to observe the world.
His mystical preaching restarts in 1986 with his remakes of Leonardo's Last Supper, in whole or limited to details. He gets an intuition that the exemplary character that he has long sought in the modern world is himself.
He is already 58 years old and his face is aging. He greatly exaggerates his physical decline with a shaggy wig, haggard eyes and an open mouth that are turning his head into a hollowed mask on a black background. Reusing the technique of his early masterpieces he paints this unique view in acrylic on silkscreen by multiplying sizes and colors.
On November 17 in New York, Sotheby's is selling the white version of this Self Portrait in 203 x 193 cm size, lot 38 estimated $ 20M.
In 1986 black and white imaging had fallen into an obsolete past and this white figure cannot have the same cinematographic meaning as a previous Silver Liz. The lack of colors keeps the sharpness of details of the screen printing in a high artistic achievement : it is undoubtedly one of the scarier versions of this famous image.
In its largest format 270 x 270 cm the purple painting was sold for $ 32,5M including premium by Sotheby's on May 12, 2010.
In the 1960s Andy also processed his self-portraits as a shy man half hidden to observe the world.
His mystical preaching restarts in 1986 with his remakes of Leonardo's Last Supper, in whole or limited to details. He gets an intuition that the exemplary character that he has long sought in the modern world is himself.
He is already 58 years old and his face is aging. He greatly exaggerates his physical decline with a shaggy wig, haggard eyes and an open mouth that are turning his head into a hollowed mask on a black background. Reusing the technique of his early masterpieces he paints this unique view in acrylic on silkscreen by multiplying sizes and colors.
On November 17 in New York, Sotheby's is selling the white version of this Self Portrait in 203 x 193 cm size, lot 38 estimated $ 20M.
In 1986 black and white imaging had fallen into an obsolete past and this white figure cannot have the same cinematographic meaning as a previous Silver Liz. The lack of colors keeps the sharpness of details of the screen printing in a high artistic achievement : it is undoubtedly one of the scarier versions of this famous image.
In its largest format 270 x 270 cm the purple painting was sold for $ 32,5M including premium by Sotheby's on May 12, 2010.
1986 The Last Preaching of Andy Warhol
2014 SOLD 61 MSEK including premium
Ondrej and Julia Varhola, the parents of Andy, had emigrated to the United States. They came from a village in present-day Slovakia and were deeply Catholic.
Andy's personality was very complex, but the real thread was his fear of God and death. Even at the time of his greater social activity, the basics of his character were never freed from shyness. He could not become a preacher, but he wanted to spread his vision of the vanity of things in life. He was an artist. He was even the most important artist of his time.
His relationship with the Catholic religion remained intense without becoming conventional. Too shy to go to confession, he fled ceremonies but liked to attend in person, anonymously, the charity to the poor of New York. He was carrying parcels and served coffee and meals.
In 1986, he finds a true model for his life. This is Leonardo's Last Supper. Throughout that year, he reinterprets it in the Warholian fashion, creating about forty works including details, multiples and even camouflages.
He worked intensively on the model, up to challenge the original Leonardo, too much modified and damaged. Warhol's Last Supper is inspired by drawings of experts in search of the initial features of the work. Andy got the anxiety that the public and the critics do not understand how much his interpretation of Leonardo's Last Supper was a serious work although he had spent his life in a continuous mockery of modern civilization.
The exhibition of 20 Last Suppers in Milan on January 22, 1987 was a triumph. Sitting in front of a simple Formica table, Andy signed autographs. Sick and exhausted, he had to interrupt his stay. Warhol died of the consequences of his creative act, like Van Gogh, De Staël and Klein.
A multiple of a detail of the Last Supper, Christ 112 times yellow, 2 x 10.7 m, was sold for $ 9.5 million including premium by Sotheby's on May 14, 2008.
Varying the colors from a work to another according to his usual practice, the double Last Supper 102 x 102 cm is the most common version. One of them was sold for $ 6.8 million including premium by Sotheby's on November 9, 2010. Another double Supper in same size is estimated SEK 60M, for sale on May 14 by Bukowskis in Stockholm.
I urge you to read the catalog issued by Bukowskis, which includes a fascinating study on the relation of Andy Warhol with religion.
I invite you to play the video shared by the auction house.
POST SALE COMMENT
This interesting Warhol painting has not reached its estimate but it was sold : SEK 61M including premium, equivalent to US$ 9.3 M.
Andy's personality was very complex, but the real thread was his fear of God and death. Even at the time of his greater social activity, the basics of his character were never freed from shyness. He could not become a preacher, but he wanted to spread his vision of the vanity of things in life. He was an artist. He was even the most important artist of his time.
His relationship with the Catholic religion remained intense without becoming conventional. Too shy to go to confession, he fled ceremonies but liked to attend in person, anonymously, the charity to the poor of New York. He was carrying parcels and served coffee and meals.
In 1986, he finds a true model for his life. This is Leonardo's Last Supper. Throughout that year, he reinterprets it in the Warholian fashion, creating about forty works including details, multiples and even camouflages.
He worked intensively on the model, up to challenge the original Leonardo, too much modified and damaged. Warhol's Last Supper is inspired by drawings of experts in search of the initial features of the work. Andy got the anxiety that the public and the critics do not understand how much his interpretation of Leonardo's Last Supper was a serious work although he had spent his life in a continuous mockery of modern civilization.
The exhibition of 20 Last Suppers in Milan on January 22, 1987 was a triumph. Sitting in front of a simple Formica table, Andy signed autographs. Sick and exhausted, he had to interrupt his stay. Warhol died of the consequences of his creative act, like Van Gogh, De Staël and Klein.
A multiple of a detail of the Last Supper, Christ 112 times yellow, 2 x 10.7 m, was sold for $ 9.5 million including premium by Sotheby's on May 14, 2008.
Varying the colors from a work to another according to his usual practice, the double Last Supper 102 x 102 cm is the most common version. One of them was sold for $ 6.8 million including premium by Sotheby's on November 9, 2010. Another double Supper in same size is estimated SEK 60M, for sale on May 14 by Bukowskis in Stockholm.
I urge you to read the catalog issued by Bukowskis, which includes a fascinating study on the relation of Andy Warhol with religion.
I invite you to play the video shared by the auction house.
POST SALE COMMENT
This interesting Warhol painting has not reached its estimate but it was sold : SEK 61M including premium, equivalent to US$ 9.3 M.
