Picture "Vesuvius" (1985)

The hand-signed and numbered screenprint "Vesuvius", one of Warhol's most iconic works of art from the 1980s, shows Mount Vesuvius during the eruption. Using the bright colours typical of the artist and Pop Art, he presents the volcano in all its destructive power. At the centre of the depiction is the mountain on the Gulf of Naples - its lava appears to envelop the entire composition in fiery red hues, while the background is kept in earthy brown tones to emphasise the contrast and contours.
In creating this and other works, Andy Warhol was inspired by Neapolitan vedute and landscape painting, creating works that engage in a dialogue with the past and tradition. He also paid tribute to important painters such as Joseph Wright of Derby and Joseph Mallord William Turner, who had previously depicted Vesuvius. In 1985, Warhol created 18 paintings for the exhibition "Vesuvius by Warhol" at the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte in Naples, where 17 of these works from the cycle are now part of the museum's collection.

The series of works is the result of a collaboration with the Italian art dealer and gallery owner Lucio Amelio. The two met in New York in 1974, when Warhol created four portraits of Amelio, one of which was exchanged for a painting by Cy Twombly - marking the beginning of a close friendship. The following year, the artist visited Naples for the first time at Amelio's invitation and was immediately captivated by the city: "I love Naples because it reminds me of New York, especially the many transvestites and the rubbish in the streets. Like New York, it is a city that is falling apart, yet the people are as happy as those in New York."

Colour screenprint, 1985. edition: 250 copies + 50 A.P. copies and 10 P.P. copies, numbered and signed. Printed by Rupert Jasen Smith, New York. Published by the Fondazione Amelio. Catalogue raisonné Feldman/Schellmann II. 365. Motif size/sheet size 80 x 100 cm. Size in frame 88 x 108 cm as shown.

Producer: ARTES Kunsthandelsgesellschaft mbH, Bödekerstraße 13, 30161 Hannover, Deutschland E-Mail: info@kunsthaus-artes.de

About Andy Warhol

1928-1987

Andy Warhol was America's most famous artist. He was considered a revolutionary, an eccentric and the inventor of pop art, and was all of these things at the same time. Art critics celebrated him with accolades that no other artist had ever been awarded - not even Pablo Picasso or Salvador Dali. Alfred Nemeczek comments: “They (the accolades) ranged from ‘pop star’ to ‘pop artist’, elevated the ‘pop genius’ from ‘pop prince’ to ‘prince of pop’ and further up to ‘pop king’, ‘pop tsar’ and ‘grand mogul’. But the “Picasso of Pop-art” has also been christened the “High Priest” and “Pope of Pop””. (Artists - Critical Dictionary of Contemporary Art)

Warhol was born in Pittsburgh in 1928 and died in New York in 1987. The son of Slovakian immigrants, he went to the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh as a work-study student after high school. He settled in New York in 1949 and made his debut at the Hugo Gallery three years later. Until then, he worked as a commercial artist for fashion magazines and designed Christmas cards, LP covers and weather maps for television. Soon afterwards, however, the artist had the idea of placing everyday objects at the center of his motifs. Graphic art provided him with the medium for this, and coveted cult objects were created, which today everyone who wants to buy an Andy Warhol picture regards as real treasures.

The best-known screen prints that can be bought today as Andy Warhol pictures are the images of Campbell's red and white soup cans and the two-dollar bill. These works are not only iconic, but are among those that have made the artist famous worldwide. Anyone who wants to buy Andy Warhol Original Paintings will recognize the revolutionary break with art tradition that Warhol and his contemporaries made in the 1950s in the USA and England when they created the new art movement Pop Art.

The most famous screen prints that can be bought today as Andy Warhol paintings are the images of Campbell's red and white soup cans and the two-dollar bill. These works are not only iconic, but are among those that have made the artist famous worldwide. Anyone who wants to buy Andy Warhol original paintings will recognize the revolutionary break with art tradition that Warhol and his contemporaries made in the 1950s in the USA and England when they created the new art movement Pop Art.

Alongside Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Tom Wesselmann were among the American representatives who sought their pictorial subjects in the world of advertising, comics and Hollywood superstars. Elvis Presley, Jackie Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe became icons in Warhol's repertoire of images, which today is a coveted collection for anyone who wants to buy Warhol.

The elevation of the everyday motif to an art object gives it the opportunity to receive a degree of attention that it never has as a repeatedly used object. Warhol demanded through his way of photographically reproducing the object that it must work through itself. The works in which he used repetitions of the same motif also make this claim and have an additional effect through his color transformations. Anyone who decides to buy an Andy Warhol Original can choose between various techniques, including the purchase of an Andy Warhol print or an Andy Warhol screen print.

The artist sees the world as it is and depicts it: “I am extraordinarily passive. I take things as they are. I just watch, I observe the world.”

Your benefits: Buy Andy Warhol at ARTES

In addition to the impressive selection of works by renowned artists such as Andy Warhol, ARTES offers a first-class service. Buyers enjoy a unique right of return - you can buy a Andy Warhol work from us with complete peace of mind, the risk of a misjudgment lies entirely with us. The authenticity of all Warhol originals is guaranteed by certificates and secure shipping ensures that the artwork arrives well packaged and undamaged. We are also happy to visit your home or office by appointment and bring one or more works to you for viewing.

With over 40 years of experience and a focus on maximum customer satisfaction, ARTES is the ideal partner. If you would like to find out more about the artworks, please contact us.

Read more Minimize

The field of graphic arts, that includes artistic representations, which are reproduced by various printing techniques.

Printmaking techniques include woodcuts, copperplate engraving, etching, lithography, serigraphy, among others.