Published by Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles.
Signed and numbered  in pencil out of an edition of 75.
Each work is a lithograph on Special Arjomari paper. (Cathedral #1 is also with screenprint).
Each sheet approx: 123 x 82.5 cm.
Each image approx: 106 x 68.5 cm.

Roy Lichtenstein created this iconic series of lithographs (one with screenprint) of Rouen Cathedral in 1969. The six works depict the same view in different binary colour combinations and were inspired by Monet’s series of paintings of the same cathedral in Rouen at the end of the 19th century. The lithographs are emblematic of Lichtenstein’s idiosyncratic style, exploring notions of mechanised reproduction, repetition and appropriation.

“My work isn’t about form. It’s about seeing. I’m excited about seeing things, and I’m interested in the way I think other people see things.” – Roy Lichtenstein

This series of prints followed a series of paintings Lichtenstein produced in the same year titled Rouen Cathedrals, now in the permanent collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA).

The works were inspired by Monet’s impressionist series of oil paintings of the same cathedral in Rouen. Between 1892 and 1894 Monet painted thirty views of the cathedral from three or four different positions, all quite close to one another, reflecting different times of day and the changes in light and colour on the building. Some 60 years later, John Coplans (1920-2008) arranged the historic ‘Serial Imagery’ exhibition at the Pasadena Museum of Art in 1968. Coplans claimed that Monet invented the concept of ‘seriality’ with his series of paintings of Rouen Cathedral. At a meeting to discuss the exhibition with Coplans, Lichtenstein saw photographs of the 1894 oil paintings and was inspired to make his own “manufactured Monets”. He appropriated the imagery and intention from Monet’s series, reinventing it with mechanised dots and binary colour schemes, all whilst exploring the nature of repetition and the act of seeing. Both Monet and Lichtenstein were preoccupied with seeing – Monet argued: “The motif is something secondary for me; what I want to render is what is between the motif and me.”

The Cathedral Series, executed at the height of Lichtenstein’s technical prowess, is a perfect example of his ability to reinvent images from art history using his signature Ben-Day dots to imitate and exaggerate the patterning commonly used in printing imagery.

Lithograph and line-cut on Arjomari paper, 1973.
Signed and numbered from an edition on 100 in  pencil by the artist.
Published by Gemini G.E.L. , Los Angeles.
Sheet: 63.4 x 83.8 cm.
Image: 54.1 x 74.9 cm

Lithograph, screenprint and line-cut on Arjomari paper, 1973. Signed and numbered out of an edition of 100 in pencil by the artist.
Published by Gemini G.E.L. , Los Angeles.
Sheet: 63.4 x 83.7 cm.
Image: 53.7 x 71.3 cm.

Lithograph, screenprint and line-cut on Arjomari paper, 1973.
Signed and numbered out of an edition of 100 in pencil by the artist.
Published by Gemini G.E.L. , Los Angeles.
Sheet: 63.5 x 83.7 cm. Image: 53.3 x 72.5 cm