Cologne Cathedral 363 by Andy Warhol is part of a series that features the Roman Catholic Church in Cologne, Germany. The Cologne Cathedral is Germany’s most visited landmark and houses the reliquary of the Three Kings. The construction was left incomplete in the Middle Ages. Despite this, it symbolized a masterpiece of exceptional intrinsic value. Additionally, it represented proof of the strength of Christianity in both medieval and modern Europe. Warhol produced these prints in different bold colors to demonstrate how a Pop image of Gothic architecture can redefine its meaning.
Cologne Cathedral 363 as Part of Andy Warhol’s Larger Body of Work
By taking such a religious monument to create his new series of prints, Warhol demonstrates how Pop colors can transform the structure to hold new meanings. He slightly simplifies the details of the Gothic architecture through his silkscreening process to emphasize the general beauty of the cathedral. Warhol was known to take bold risks in conveying his interpretations of religious matters. The Cologne Cathedral suite uses both color and line work to obscure and abstract the original image, making it almost unrecognizable as the cathedral and giving it an originality that is not typically seen in artistic renditions of Gothic architecture. The Cologne Cathedral complete portfolio is comprised of four screenprints with diamond dust on Lenox Museum Board, including FS II. 361-364.
Photo credit: View of Cologne Cathedral, Germany.
