Mercedes 300 Sl Gullwing
Mercedes 300 Sl Gullwing
Signed Print
Andy Warhol
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40 x 60cm, Edition of 500, Screenprint
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Meaning & Analysis
Mercedes 300 Sl Gullwing is a signed screen print made by the pioneering Pop artist, Andy Warhol, in 2007. Coming in an edition size of 500, the print shows a red Mercedes-Benz car. The bold red of the car contrasts with the print's background which is composed of simple green grass and blue sky. Warhol renders the setting in a pared back style, using blocks of colour for the sky and grass. Warhol uses intricate orange and pink gestural lines to add detail to the car, highlighting its wheels, windows and shiny number plate. The detail used to delineate the car contrasts with the lack of detail in the composition’s background.
The print can be seen alongside a collection of prints made by Warhol in 1986 commissioned by Mercedes-Benz. In the Cars collection, Warhol produced a number of artworks which tracked the evolution of the car designs from the Benz Patent-Motorwagen (1886) to the Mercedes-Benz C111 which was popular in the 1960s and 1970s. The first car painting produced by Warhol was made in 1986 and commissioned by German art dealer, Hans Meyer, to celebrate the centenary of the invention of the motor car.
Warhol’s depiction of cars captures how the artist often took artistic inspiration from everyday consumer goods. Warhol challenged what could be considered a worthy subject of fine art and broke down the boundaries separating ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture by elevating ordinary objects and subjects into the realm of fine art.
Andy Warhol was a leading figure of the Pop Art movement and is often considered the father of Pop Art. Born in 1928, Warhol allowed cultural references of the 20th century to drive his work. From the depiction of glamorous public figures, such as Marilyn Monroe, to the everyday Campbell’s Soup Can, the artist challenged what was considered art by blurring the boundaries between high art and mass consumerism. Warhol's preferred screen printing technique further reiterated his obsession with mass culture, enabling art to be seen as somewhat of a commodity through the reproduced images in multiple colour ways.