Moonscape, 1985: Print by Roy Lichtenstein from the Landscape series

  • Moonscape, 1985 is an abstract work by Roy Lichtenstein where he forms a landscape from brushstrokes
    Moonscape, 1985
    Lithograph, woodcut, and screenprint on Arches 88 paper, Sheet: 94.6 x 140.5 cm
    Edition of 60; plus 11 AP, 1 RTP, 1 PPII, 3 GEL, 1 C, 3 SP
    ©The Estate of Roy Lichtenstein
    BACK TO: LANDSCAPE SERIES

     

    Moonscape, 1985 is a print by Roy Lichtenstein from his Landscapes series that transforms expressive brushstrokes into a stylised abstract landscape. Across the composition, sweeping bands of dark green, blue and light blue move across the page, suggesting a shifting horizon or atmospheric sky. At the centre of the image, yellow and grey forms surround a circular yellow shape that evokes a distant moon or glowing celestial body. The layered brushstrokes create movement and depth, while the composition remains characteristically graphic and controlled.
     
    Printed using lithograph, woodcut and screenprint on Arches 88 paper, Moonscape demonstrates Lichtenstein’s continued interest in translating painterly gestures into printmaking. The cool palette of blues and greens gives the work a calm, nocturnal atmosphere, while the bold colour contrasts and structured brushstroke forms maintain the visual clarity typical of his Pop-inspired aesthetic. The result is a work that balances abstraction with a subtle suggestion of landscape and environment.

  • "I like to pretend that my art has nothing to do with me." 

    - Roy Lichtenstein

    Lichtenstein often referenced the dramatic gestures of Abstract Expressionism, but with an ironic twist. Rather than celebrating spontaneous emotion, he translated expressive brushstrokes into clean, controlled images that looked almost mechanically produced. By rendering these gestures in a precise, comic-strip style, Lichtenstein transformed what had once been raw and personal into something calculated and reproducible, quietly questioning the authenticity and heroism often associated with Abstract Expressionist painting.