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

Roy Lichtenstein made this study for "Fragmented Painting of Lemons and a Melon on a Table" using pencil and crayon. He’s working out what to do with the lemons and melon by experimenting with the composition. It's like he’s thinking, how can I turn this into a pop statement? I can imagine him, pencil in hand, thinking about Cezanne but wanting to take it somewhere else, somewhere totally Lichtenstein. The red crayon lines create a kind of visual buzz, a surface tension that's so different from the quietness you get with Cezanne's brushstrokes. It's not about capturing light and atmosphere but about creating a graphic punch. It makes me think about how artists are always in conversation with each other, riffing off the past while trying to say something new. The surface isn't about truth-telling here, it's a starting point for another kind of seeing.