Beethoven (F. & S. II.393)
Beethoven (F. & S. II.393)
Unsigned Print
Andy Warhol
£110,000-£160,000Value Indicator
$230,000-$330,000 Value Indicator
$200,000-$290,000 Value Indicator
¥1,060,000-¥1,540,000 Value Indicator
€130,000-€180,000 Value Indicator
$1,150,000-$1,680,000 Value Indicator
¥21,640,000-¥31,480,000 Value Indicator
$150,000-$210,000 Value Indicator
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102 x 102cm, Edition of 60, Screenprint
AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
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Meaning & Analysis
Printed in 1985, Beethoven (F. & S. II.393) is a screen print by Andy Warhol that captures his keen interest in celebrities and icons of popular culture. The print features an image of the famous composer Ludwig van Beethoven rendered in an uncharacteristic blend of dark, cold colours. Beethoven’s white collar stands out against his dark grey face, which accentuates his stern and serious gaze. Warhol uses a layering technique to superimpose the sheet music of Beethoven’s renowned composition, Moonlight Sonata, over the portrait, highlighting the composer's musical talents and worldwide notoriety.
Beethoven(F. & S. II.393) is one of four screen prints in Warhol’s Beethoven series, produced by the artist shortly before his death in 1987. This print has a more sombre tone than the prints in the series, privileging cold colours over bright and vibrant ones.
Taking a classical composer as the subject matter of this series departs from Warhol’s frequent depiction of movie stars, such as Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. Beethoven was, however, an incredibly popular and well-known composer and in rendering him in this screen print, Warhol plays with the boundaries between high and low culture and turns the classical composer into a stylish 1980s pop icon.
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.