HOW ANDY WARHOL MARILYN DIPTYCH DEFINED CELEBRITY CULTURE THROUGH POP ART

Andy Warhol, born on August 6, 1928, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was an influential American visual artist, filmmaker, and producer. As a key figure in the pop art movement, he’s regarded as one of the most important artists of the 20th century. Warhol's work explores the relationship between art, advertising and celebrity culture, which exploded in the 1960s and covers many forms, including painting, sculpture, photography and film.

One of his most iconic works, Marilyn Diptych, was created in 1962 just weeks after Marilyn Monroe’s death in August. This work highlights Warhol’s fascination with celebrity culture. He used a publicity photograph from the 1953 film Niagara, although this brought him into some copyright trouble, which was later settled.

Marilyn Diptych is a classic piece of pop art, featuring 50 repeated images of Marilyn Monroe in a grid layout. On the left, the images are in bright colours, while on the right, they fade to black and white, representing the fleeting nature of fame, especially following Monroe’s tragic death. The grid resembles a photographer’s contact sheet or film strips, turning Monroe from a real person into a product to be idolized, consumed, and ultimately disposed of, a theme central to Warhol's work. Warhol himself remarked, “The more you look at the same exact thing, the more the meaning goes away, and the better and emptier you feel.”

Warhol used silkscreen printing for Marilyn Diptych, allowing him to replicate the image multiple times in various colours, reflecting his interest in industrial processes and the overlap between art and commerce.

In 2004, Marilyn Diptych was named the third most influential modern artwork in a survey by The Guardian involving 500 artists.

Artist: Andy Warhol
Created: 1962
Location: Tate, London
Medium: Silkscreen ink and acrylic paint on canvas
Dimensions: 205.44cm × 289.56cm