Composition IV

By Roy Lichtenstein (1923 – 1997)

Roy Lichtenstein, a key figure in the US Pop Art movement alongside Warhol, Johns, and others, famously appropriated imagery from comics and advertisements, using Ben-Day dots to mimic commercial printing. Pop Art, emerging in the 1950s, rejected traditional art and embraced mass media, blurring the lines between 'high' and 'low' art.

In his Composition series (1995-96), Lichtenstein explored the improvisational nature of music through four screenprints. Composition IV, the final piece in the series, features soaring music notes, diagonal lines, and bold colors. Inspired by his jazz-filled New York upbringing and his love of music, Lichtenstein, who played the clarinet and saxophone, called music his true passion, joking, “What I really want to do is music... but I won’t give up my day job!”