Study for "Fragmented Painting of Lemons and a Melon on a Table" 1973

This is Roy Lichtenstein's "Study for 'Fragmented Painting of Lemons and a Melon on a Table,'" made as a sketch in preparation for a larger painting. It looks like it's rendered with colored pencils. I am drawn to the sketchy quality and the way Lichtenstein is working out an idea. The colored pencils are so immediate, so physical in their mark making - you can see the texture of the paper coming through. I love the red lines, all going in the same direction. It’s like he’s building up the image with these repetitive, almost mechanical strokes, but they still have a handmade feel. There is a lemon larger than the others, a giant sunlike thing. I always think about the joy of this kind of creative gesture when working on a piece, and Lichtenstein is not really known for this. Looking at this study, I'm reminded a bit of the early still lifes of Giorgio Morandi, another artist who found endless fascination in simple, everyday objects. But where Morandi was all about subtle tonal shifts and muted colors, Lichtenstein brings a bold, graphic sensibility, even in this small sketch. Art's all about these conversations across time, isn't it?