Andy Warhol | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1982

Andy Warhol saw the famous portrait of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe by J. H. Wilhelm Tischbein during a visit to the Städel.

As the quintessence of German culture, it inspired him to create this work and other prints, some of which are likewise in the Städel collection.

In 1962 Warhol - a key figure of American Pop Art - began reproducing press photos of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe or Elvis Presley with the silkscreen technique.

Andy Warhol | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1982 | Städel Museum, Frankfurt

He defamiliarised his pictorial models - images known all over the world thanks to their propagation by the media - by translating them into garish colours and bold two-dimensionality.

Through the serial production of his art in his studio, which he himself referred to as a factory, the classical distinguishing features of the artist - for example subjectivity and originality - recede into the background.

At the same time, by staging Goethe as the superstar of the Städel, the city of Frankfurt and German Classicism, Warhol was reflecting on how the mass media have changed our perception of reality. | Source: © Städel Museum, Frankfurt

Andy Warhol | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1982 | Städel Museum, Frankfurt

In 1962, Andy Warhol began reproducing press photos of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley using the silkscreen technique.

The portrait silkscreens recur throughout Warhol’s oeuvre with “VIPs” from all walks of life - music, art, politics, business, sports and even the world of merchandise (Campbell’s Soup, BMW, Mercedes).

Warhol referred to his studio as a “factory”, since he carried out the serial production of his works there with the help of a large staff.

In doing so, he was openly rejecting classical artistic qualities such as originality, authenticity and uniqueness.

Taking images already well-known on account of their multiple reproduction in the media, he defamiliarized them with flashy colours and demonstrative flattening.

When we view Warhol’s portraits, we find ourselves wondering who made these images so prominent - and why. | © Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol vide il famoso ritratto di Goethe di J. H. Wilhelm Tischbein durante una visita allo Städel.

In quanto quintessenza della cultura tedesca, lo ispirò a creare quest'opera ed altre stampe, alcune delle quali sono anch'esse nella collezione dello Städel Museum, Frankfurt.

Nel 1962 Warhol, figura chiave della Pop Art americana, iniziò a riprodurre foto di celebrità come Marilyn Monroe od Elvis Presley con la tecnica della serigrafia.

Stranierò i suoi modelli pittorici, immagini note in tutto il mondo grazie alla loro propagazione da parte dei media, traducendoli in colori sgargianti ed audace bidimensionalità.

Attraverso la produzione seriale della sua arte nel suo studio, che lui stesso definiva una fabbrica, i tratti distintivi classici dell'artista, ad esempio la soggettività e l'originalità, passano in secondo piano.

Allo stesso tempo, mettendo in scena Goethe come la superstar dello Städel, la città di Francoforte ed il classicismo tedesco, Warhol stava riflettendo su come i mass media abbiano cambiato la nostra percezione della realtà. | Fonte: © Städel Museum, Frankfurt