This limited edition silkscreen is based on Roy Lichtenstein’s Big Painting VI (1965), an iconic work from his celebrated brushstroke series. The original painting—oil and magna on canvas, measuring a commanding 92.5 x 129 inches (235 x 328 cm)—is held in the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf.
Big Painting VI marks Lichtenstein’s playful engagement with the New York school of Action Painting, especially the bravura gesture of the brushstroke. As art historian Diane Waldman observed: “The point of departure for the brushstroke paintings of 1966-67 was the New York school of Action Painting. The idea of the bravura brushstroke, and Lichtenstein’s use of an oversize image, is nothing but Dada in the extreme. […] It is difficult not to underestimate the thread of irony that informs all his subjects, from the lowliest Frankfurter to the most venerable temple or pyramid.” (Diane Waldman, Lichtenstein, p. 20, London 1971)
Our print, published by Kunstverlag Schumacher-Edition Fils Düsseldorf in 2000 in an edition limited to 500, measures framed 63 x 83 cm (24.8 x 32.7 inches). This is slightly smaller than the original print.
