Robert Mapplethorpe (Warhol)

Robert Mapplethorpe
ArtistAndy Warhol
Year1983
MediumAcrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas
MovementPop Art
SubjectRobert Mapplethorpe
Dimensions102 cm × 102 cm (40 in × 40 in)

Robert Mapplethorpe is a 1983 portrait painting by American artist Andy Warhol. Executed in acrylic paint and silkscreen ink on canvas, it depicts photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Both renowned for their portraiture, Warhol and Mapplethorpe explored similar themes of identity, sexuality, and beauty. In 1983, they produced portraits of one another, with Mapplethorpe photographing Warhol and Warhol creating a series of silkscreen portraits of Mapplethorpe in several compositional variations.

Background

Although Pop artist Andy Warhol and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe were not close friends, they moved in overlapping New York social circles and maintained an acquaintance since the early 1970s.[1][2][3] In her memoir Just Kids (2010), Mapplethorpe's former girlfriend Patti Smith recalled that he regarded Warhol and French artist Marcel Duchamp "as models."[4] She also wrote that Mapplethorpe was deeply upset when Warhol was shot by radical feminist Valerie Solanas in 1968.[5] "He loved Andy Warhol and considered him our most important living artist. It was as close to hero worship as he ever got. He respected artists like Cocteau and Pasolini, who merged life and art, but for Robert, the most interesting of them was Andy Warhol documenting the human mise-en-scène in his silver-lined Factory."[5] Shortly after moving into the Hotel Chelsea in 1969, Smith obtained a used copy of Andy Warhol's Index (Book) (1967) for Mapplethorpe.[6] Although he admired its inventive foldouts and pop-up elements, he was frustrated because he was designing a similar artist's book.[6] According to Smith, Mapplethorpe believed he and Warhol were on "parallel paths" and remarked, "It's good... But mine will be better."[6]

Before establishing himself as a photographer, Mapplethorpe designed jewelry from found objects that was modeled and photographed by friends connected to Warhol's circle.[7] His pieces were worn by Warhol superstar Ultra Violet in a 1970 New York magazine fashion feature, by Warhol superstar Jay Johnson, twin brother of Warhol's longtime partner Jed Johnson, and by Warhol superstar Joe Dallesandro in a 1971 fashion editorial photographed by Bill King.[7]

By the 1980s, Warhol and Mapplethorpe had become two of the leading portrait artists of their generation, working primarily in painting and photography, respectively.[1] Curator Patricia Hickson observed that both artists "lived in this world of gender fluidity" and explored many of the same subjects despite their differing artistic practices.[8] A postcard sent by Mapplethorpe to Warhol in 1982 also refers to a discussion between the two concerning costume and drag.[1] In 1983, they produced portraits of one another, with Mapplethorpe photographing Warhol and Warhol creating a silkscreen portrait of Mapplethorpe based on a photographic source.[1] In 1984, Warhol visited Mapplethorpe's Bond Street studio for an Interview magazine photo shoot featuring singer Grace Jones, who was photographed by Mapplethorpe and painted by artist Keith Haring.[9] Mapplethorpe photographed Warhol again in 1986, and following Warhol's death in 1987, he photographed the artist's Upper East Side townhouse and extensive collection for House & Garden magazine.[1][10]

Production

For portrait commissions such as Robert Mapplethorpe, Warhol typically photographed the sitter using a Polaroid Big Shot camera, taking dozens of instant photographs during a session.[11] From these, he selected several test images before choosing one or two to serve as the basis for the final 40-by-40-inch (102 × 102 cm) silkscreen portraits, the standard format for his portraits.[1]

After selecting the image, Warhol enlarged the Polaroid and transferred its outline onto a primed canvas.[12] He then applied areas of acrylic color before placing a large silkscreen over the canvas and printing the photographic image in black silkscreen ink, allowing the portrait to emerge through the combination of painted color and photographic reproduction.[12]

Description

Executed in acrylic paint and silkscreen ink on canvas, Robert Mapplethorpe depicts the photographer in a tightly cropped frontal composition characteristic of Warhol's portrait paintings. Mapplethorpe is shown with his hair slicked back into a pompadour, wearing a black leather jacket, and white shirt, looking directly at the viewer against a saturated red background. The portrait closely resembles several self-portraits Mapplethorpe made in the early 1980s, in which he adopted a punk-inspired persona.[1] Warhol produced several painted variations of Mapplethorpe's likeness, including black-and-white "double-face" and "triple-face" compositions in which the portrait is superimposed.[1]

Interpretation

Curator Patricia Hickson compared the portrait with Mapplethorpe's 1986 photographic portrait of Warhol, noting both "are head shots; both men gaze directly at the viewer. Mapplethorpe placed Warhol's face in the center of a cruciform frame and encircled his head with a saintly glow, while Warhol saturated Mapplethorpe's image in a deep, devilish red."[8]

Exhibitions

Robert Mapplethorpe was displayed alongside Mapplethorpe's photographic portrait of Warhol in the exhibition Warhol & Mapplethorpe: Guise & Dolls at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford from December 2015 to January 2016.[8]

Collections

Mapplethorpe owned a black-and-white "double-face" portrait of himself, which Hickson described as "the ultimate symbol of his success."[1] Following his death in 1989, the painting was sold at Christie's and was resold there for $396,800 in November 2006.[13]

Versions of Robert Mapplethorpe are held in the collections of several major museums. Black-and-white examples are in the collections of the Tate in London and the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh.[14][15] A black-and-white triple-image version is in the collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art as part of the Doris and Donald Fisher Collection.[16]

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Hickson, Patricia, ed. (2015). Warhol & Mapplethorpe: Guise & Dolls. Hartford, Conn.: Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. pp. 15–17. ISBN 978-0-918333-18-6.
  2. ↑ Hackett 1989, p. 107Entry date: February 2, 1978
  3. ↑ Hackett 1989, p. 803Entry date: February 10, 1987
  4. ↑ Smith 2010, p. 57.
  5. 1 2 Smith 2010, p. 69.
  6. 1 2 3 Smith 2010, p. 99.
  7. 1 2 Terpak, Frances; Brunnick, Michelle (2016-03-15). Robert Mapplethorpe: The Archive. Getty Publications. pp. 101–105. ISBN 978-1-60606-470-2.
  8. 1 2 3 Hodara, Susan (2015-12-25). "Warhol and Mapplethorpe: Exploring Gender as Disguise and Identity". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
  9. ↑ Hackett 1989, pp. 588–589Entry date: July 28, 1984
  10. ↑ Aronson, Steven M. L. (December 1987). "Possession Obsession". House & Garden. 159 (12): 186–196.
  11. ↑ Morrison, Cheyenne (2019-04-29). "The Big Shot Polaroid – Andy Warhol's Pen & Pencil". Casual Photophile. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  12. 1 2 Espedahl, Martha A. (1976-04-25). "Jamie Paints Warhol, and Vice Versa". The Morning News. pp. Home 17. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  13. ↑ "Andy Warhol (1928-1987), Robert Mapplethorpe". Christie's. November 16, 2006.
  14. ↑ Tate. "'Robert Mapplethorpe', Andy Warhol, 1983". Tate. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  15. ↑ "Robert Mapplethorpe by Andy Warhol | National Galleries of Scotland". www.nationalgalleries.org. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  16. ↑ "Robert Mapplethorpe". SFMOMA. Retrieved 2026-07-24.

Sources

  • Smith, Patti (2010). Just Kids. New York: Ecco. ISBN 978-0-06-621131-2.
  • Hackett, Pat, ed. (1989). The Andy Warhol Diaries. Warner Books. ISBN 978-0-446-39138-2.
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