Beschreibung:

25 Andy Warhol Mao (Mao 10) 1973 Acrylic and silkscreen ink on linen. 26 x 22 in. (66 x 55.9 cm.) Signed and dated “Andy Warhol 73” on the overlap.
Provenance Leo Castelli Gallery, New York (LC 997); The Sonnabend Collection, New York Exhibited Paris, Musée Galliera, Andy Warhol Mao, February 23 – March 18, 1974; Monaco, Fondation Grimaldi, SuperWarhol, July 16 – August 31, 2003, no. 119 (illustrated in color); Monaco, Fondation Grimaldi, New York, New York: 50 Years of Art, Architecture, Photography, Film and Video, July 14 – September 10, 2006, no. 224 (illustrated in color); New York, Gagosian Gallery, Warhol from the Sonnabend Collection, January 20 – February 28, 2009, p. 111 (illustrated in color) Literature M. Yonekura, Andy Warhol Tokyo, 1993, no. 50 (illustrated in color) G. Celant, SuperWarhol, Milan, 2003, p. 274, no. 119 (illustrated in color) J. Richardson and B. Richardson, Warhol from the Sonnabend Collection, New York, 2009, p. 111 (illustrated in color) G. Frei and N. Printz, eds., The Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonné: Paintings and Sculptures 1970-1974, Volume 3, London and New York, 2010, pp. 214 and 223. no. 2322 (illustrated in color) Catalogue Essay I’ve been reading so much about China ... The only picture they ever have is of Mao Zedong. It’s great. It looks like a silkscreen. ANDY WARHOL (G. Frei and N. Printz, eds., The Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonné: Paintings and Sculptures 1970-1974, Volume 3, London and New York, 2010, p. 167) And silkscreen Mao he did. Andy Warhol’s portraits of Mao are some of the most critically important of his career. They mark his return to painting after having taken a premature hiatus from it to focus on film-making after his 1968 shooting. Not only was Warhol’s high profile return to painting in 1973 monumentally important to his career but it also marked a new and incredibly successful focus on the dramatic use of color and gestural brushwork. Mao 10 stands out amongst the Warhol Maos. It was perhaps the bold brushwork and the striking color combination of cobalt blue and vibrant green that caught the attention of the illustrious art dealer, Ileana Sonnabend, earning this painting a spot in her personal collection. The majority of Warhols in her collection were early works dating from between 1962 through 1965. Mao 10 was one of the only late Warhols she acquired, further illuminating its importance within the series. Ileana certainly could have had her choice of works from the series as she was in fact the person who organized the Musée Galliera exhibition of the Mao paintings in Paris in 1974. This exhibition marked a significant moment in Warhol’s career. Mao paintings of varying sizes hung on gallery walls covered in Mao wallpaper and the exhibition quickly became an absolute sensation, further cementing Warhol’s burgeoning international reputation. Aside from the highly fueled subject matter, the Mao paintings are also significant in the development of Warhol’s technique. These canvases mark a departure from his previously highly repetitive silkscreened works – each canvas in the Mao series is significantly unique. The paintings are expressionistic, bold and brilliant, perhaps none more so than Mao 10. The energetic colors and brushwork of the present painting are perhaps the best examples from the entire series of Warhol’s extraordinary ability in this regard. Warhol has given special attention to Mao’s face with particular emphasis on the red lipstick and blue eye shadow that both highlight and deface his visage. Warhol’s Mao paintings take a radical departure and stand in high contrast to the original source photograph of Mao and certainly create an irreverent representation of the Chinese Communist leader. They shout more of Hollywood glamour than they do of Chinese politics. Warhol began the Mao series upon the urging of his dealer, Bruno Bischofberger, who implored Warhol to return to painting after his premature “retirement.” As inspiration Bischofberger suggested that Warhol paint the most important figure of the twentieth century. Bischofberger’s suggestion was Albert Einstein. Warhol’s response to thi