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Title: Black Lenin (FS II.402)
Medium: Screenprint on Arches 88 paper.
Year: 1987
Size: 39 3/8” x 29 1/2”
Edition: 120, 24 AP, 6 PP, 10 HC, signed and numbered in pencil lower left.
BLACK LENIN 402
Lenin 1987 was Warhol’s portrait of Vladimir Lenin, the political leader of Russia. Lenin was the father of Russia’s communist revolution. Thus, this print includes shades of red, the color most associated with communism. Lenin is primarily black and less defined to emphasize Lenin’s famous face and hand in red. His body blends in with the black background, allowing his face and hand to stand out. With this print, Warhol is able to emphasize the intelligence and power of the political leader.
BLACK LENIN 402 AS PART OF ANDY WARHOL’S LARGER BODY OF WORK
Warhol demonstrates the diversity of his subject matters as he reaches out beyond the realm of Hollywood celebrities, socialites, rock stars and wildly popular household items and explores a more daring subject — politics. By doing so, we are confronted with an ambiguously conflicting thought: Did Warhol choose a political figure as his focus to bring depth to his portfolio of motifs, or did he take the depth out of politics by choosing this subject matter to exist next to the ubiquitous images of soup cans, dollar signs and flowers?
