Early in his career, Roy Lichtenstein derived many of his subjects from cartoon imagery and magazine advertisements. He would strip these images of their context and crop and reimagine them on the canvas. Later, he began to broaden his subject matter by canvasing modern art movements such as Cubism, Fauvism, and Surrealism. Between 1977 and 1980, Lichtenstein executed a series of twenty freestanding sculptures, including Picture and Pitcher, that focus on classic themes in painting, such as still lifes and interiors. This series of works additionally explores the theme of light and reflection. Lichtenstein reinterpreted these motifs in his iconic comic book–inspired style—executed with a thick black outline and flat areas of color—which he developed during the heyday of Pop art in the 1960s. The subject of Picture and Pitcher is taken from The Ochre Head, a 1937 painting by Henri Matisse. Here, Lichtenstein puts his own spin on Matisse’s original composition, which also features a pitcher overlapping the corner of a painting. Lichtenstein’s execution and the way this work appears to be flat, however, comically subvert the very notion of sculpture. The title is humorous as well, taken from the common mispronunciations of the near-homonyms “picture” and “pitcher.”

Label from For the Love of Things: Still Life, February 27–May 29, 2016