Warhol: Marilyn Diptych

Warhol Marilyn diptych was created in 1962 after the death of the actress. In this work he combined the two themes that are often addressed: the cult of personality and the theme of death. The face of Marilyn Monroe taken from promotional material for the film Niagara, but in this picture is repeated in the same way that, for example, bottles of Coca-Cola propagated in his other works – it’s just another brand of popular culture is omnipresent in the lives of Americans . In the era of mass production quantity became quality, and this repetition Warhol reveals the inauthenticity of its performances. Marilyn Monroe was one of the many stereotypical star forced to again play in different roles and in different scenes – repeating the figure indicates its omnipresence in the media. Stars like her have become so common in contemporary iconography, popular society that they eventually began to lose all uniqueness and all the qualities that originally attracted the audience.

Unsubtle makeup like a mask standing on the painted side of the diptych, while the rest of her face simulates the beauty and happiness: radiant blond hair, a smile on his lips, sensual look – she’s the one person that can be sold. Red lipstick in modern culture means many things related to sexuality, accessibility and passion, and the very red labeled exaggeration and open sexuality.

Relaxed Marilyn Monroe’s sexuality is often in the movies underlined in red lipstick or dress. In the film Niagara, for example, she played sex-obsessed adulterer who wore too much makeup. In this description seemed to Warhol builds on some of their other work which multiplied her show with a lot of smeared red lipstick – precisely this was Marilyn Monroe that the study sought to portray it. However, in contrast to the tone and vibrancy standing black and white part of the diptych, stained and faded, which points to its death and tragedy.