An Analysis of Andy Warhol's Gold Marilyn Monroe (1962)

The sixties were a time of social and political change in America, and the art world was not left untouched. Early in the decade a new movement focused on popular culture and national icons began to develop. It was aptly named Pop art. "Many critics were alarmed by Pop, uncertain whether it was embracing or parodying popular culture and fearful that it threatened the survival of both modernist art and high culture..." (Stokstad 1101) Pop artists were not the first to make cultural statements with their work, however controversial art always draws criticism and attention. One of the most well known artists of the Pop movement was Andy Warhol, a young commerial illustrator from manhattan. Warhol's use of popular icons and brands as the focus of his art is what made him famous. The Warhol painting I will be analyzing is Gold Marilyn Monroe.

As an artist, Warhol used techniques that had rarely, if ever, been seen in the art world. He often combined painting and photography, by painting canvases silk screened with an image with bright abstract colors. Though he often used his own photography, he was also known for using the photography of others when he wished to portray a subject he never had or never would have the opportunity to photograph. The painting is a portrait of a young woman's face which has been silk screened on to the canvas. You can see very little of her clothing, because of the tight crop of the painting, however she appears to be wearing a garment that ties behind her neck. Her hair is short, yet falls close to her head below her ears. It is softly waved and curled at the ends, and Warhol has painted it a bright golden yellow. The woman has a square jaw, high cheekbones, and a light complexion painted a pale pink. Her eyes are heavily lidded and accented with highly arched dark eyebrows. The woman's gaze is focused directly on the viewer of the painting. She has a short rounded nose. The woman is smiling revealing a row of bright teeth. Her top lip is thin and the bottom is full. Just above the left side of her lips is a small dark mole. If the woman's body could be seen, her left shoulder would be forward, the rest of her body is positioned away from the viewer. Her face is turned toward the viewer. The natural environment of the woman has been erased. Instead she is floating on a large golden canvas. There are no other objects or decoration in the work.

The woman portrayed in the painting is the famous movie star Marilyn Monroe. The photograph that Warhol used for this piece is a publicity still from the 1953 movie Niagra.(Museum of Modern Art) Marilyn Monroe has always been known, and always will be known as our nations most famous sex symbol. Her personal life was even more interesting and exciting to the public than her films. She was married several times, and the mysterious events surrounding her death were rumored to be the result of an affair with President John F. Kennedy. Warhol chose the year of Monroe's death, declared a suicide, to create this piece. Her troubled personal life and untimely death only made Warhol's painting more powerful. He displays Monroe at her best. She is young and beautiful with styled hair and a made up face-yet inside she was empty. By glorifying her, Warhol shows her vulnerability. She was an icon to millions, yet the constant demands from