Material: Silver leaf on Canson 320gsm paper.
Method: Lithograph in 34 colors.
Other: signed, numbered.
Advertisement images are a common motif in Pop Art. But hardly any other representative of this art movement has used them as irritatingly as Mel Ramos. With his combinations of product advertising and pin-up girls, he had his breakthrough, but also earned criticism. The series with Havana cigars by Cohiba, Partagas, Davidoff or Hoyo de Monterrey is, next to the Coca Cola series, certainly the most famous series of Mel Ramos’ works.
Pin-Up girls in the style of the first half of the 20th century are still very popular. Ramos took it a step further with his “Comercial Pin-Ups”, who are usually completely naked. Erotic scenes of naked women in huge Martini glasses and idealized female bodies, as seen in the Playboy at that time, were typical for Ramos’ motifs. This provocative sensuality is broken by strange-looking combinations, a naked woman standing in a half-open candy bar or leaning against a huge cigar. Throughout his career, Mel Ramos has challenged both the fundamentals of commercial advertising and modern ideals of beauty.
