Silkscreen in colors . Enamel on partly brushed steal, in lacquered wooden frame. Signed, dated and numbered on the back of the frame, with the printer's stamp and the registration number RL92-004. From an edition of 23 copies. 110.5 x 97.5 cm.
In the original frame. Printed by Saff Tech Arts, Oxford, Maryland (with the printer's stamp).
- Iconic art-historical motif: homage to Claude Monet's world-famous water lilies. - Exceptional materiality: Lichtenstein's characteristic silkscreen grid combined with a smooth, glossy enamel surface lend this work a strikingly modern texture. - One of only six motifs from the Water Lily series. - With this series, Lichtenstein asserted his claim to a position among the greatest artists in art history. - Lichtenstein's works are part of the Pop Art canon, one of the most 20th century's most important movements.
LITERATURE: Andrea Theil, Roy Lichtenstein: A Catalogue Raisonné, ed. by Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, New York, online no. RLCR 4172 (illustration of a different copy). Mary Lee Corlett, The Prints of Roy Lichtenstein: A Catalogue Raisonné 1948-1997, New York 2002, no. 262 (illustration of a different copy). - - Christie's, New York, Post-War & Contemporary Art, May 17, 2007, lot 248 (illustrated).

Knoedler and Co., New York. Private collection (acquired from the above in 1992). Private collection, Hesse (acquired in 2014)

Roy Lichtenstein's series “Water Lilies” is an homage to Claude Monet's famous Impressionist series “Nymphéas,” which is characterized by a magical allure and iridescent chromatic depth that captivates viewers around the world up to this day. In his garden at Giverny, Monet created over 250 paintings of water lilies that explored the subtle effects of light on water. In his response to these magnificent creations of Impressionist painting, Lichtenstein abstracts Monet's water lilies into their most basic pictorial elements: the organic forms are represented by linear contours and clear color fields. In the series, which consists of six different motifs, Lichtenstein highlights his unique ability to translate significant motifs from art history into the style of pop art and incorporate them into his distinctive visual language. As early as the 1960s, he had already referenced the serial works by the famous Impressionist in his series “Cathedrals” and “Haystacks”. Using the serigraphy technique, he brought them into the postmodern era and expanded on Monet's artistic approach. In “Water Lilies,” he builds on this by replacing Monet's Impressionist impasto style with reduced and compact forms and clearly outlined color fields. This series also marks a pinnacle in Lichtenstein's longtime exploration of reflections, which has its roots in early his Pop Art works, intensified in his "Mirror Series," and reached a new dimension in the "Water Lilies." Using stainless steel, a material with a surface so smooth and reflective that it constantly changes light and color, the work is perceived as dynamic depending on the viewing angle, an effect reminiscent of Monet's painterly experiments with light and water. He creates movement without illusion through a combination of lines, dots, and color surfaces borrowed from the pictorial language of advertising and comics. He translates Monet's flowing impression into precise forms while remaining true to the poetic idea of transience. The fascinating paradox of Lichtenstein's work lies in the combination of natural themes and industrial materials. Colors and shapes printed on stainless steel radiate a coolness and precision that counteract Monet's vibrant, impasto coloring. However, this tension between nature and industry makes Lichtenstein's “Water Lilies” appealing. His later works, particularly the water lilies, are documents of the artist's intensive engagement with the transience and fleeting nature of light, nature, and art; in doing so, he subtly reflects on his work. [KT]

The composition has a fascinating surface effect and is in good condition. There are a few small isolated spots of surface dirt and a few tiny isolated stains. With a small faint trace of surface rubbing in the blue area furthest to the right. The condition report was compiled in daylight with the help of a UV light source and to the best of our knowledge and belief.