''Brattata'' is a 1962 pop art painting by

Roy Lichtenstein Roy Fox Lichtenstein ( ; October27, 1923September29, 1997) was an American pop artist. He rose to prominence in the 1960s through pieces which were inspired by popular advertising and the comic book style. Much of his work explores the relations ...

in his

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

style of using Ben-Day dots and a text balloon. The work is held in the collection at the

Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art ( Persian: موزه هنرهای معاصر تهران), also known as TMoCA, is among the largest art museums in Tehran and Iran. It has collections of more than 3,000 items that include 19th and 20th century ...

. It is one of several Lichtenstein works from '' All-American Men of War'' issue #89, but is a reworking of its source panel.

Background

According to the

University of Michigan Library The University of Michigan Library is the academic library system of the University of Michigan. The university's 38 constituent and affiliated libraries together make it the second largest research library by number of volumes in the United Sta ...

, at one time the work was held in the Fischmann collection. St. Louis businessman and financier, Milton Fischmann died in May 1974, and the work is now in the collection of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. A trained draftsman and artist, Lichtenstein was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

pilot who served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

without ever seeing active combat. His list of aeronautical-themed works is extensive. Within that genre, Lichtenstein has featured pilots situated in cockpits during air combat in many of his works, such as '' Jet Pilot'' (1962), ''Brattata'' (1962), '' Bratatat!'' (1963), and ''

Okay Hot-Shot, Okay! ''Okay Hot-Shot, Okay!'' (sometimes ''Okay Hot-Shot'') is a 1963 pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein that uses his Ben-Day dots style and a text balloon. It is one of several examples of military art that Lichtenstein created between 1962 and ...

'' (1963). The source of ''Brattata'' is ''All-American Men of War'' #89 (January–February 1962,

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

). The same issue was the inspiration for several other Lichtenstein paintings, ''Okay Hot-Shot, Okay!'', '' Blam'', '' Whaam!'' and ''Tex!'' The graphite pencil sketch, '' Jet Pilot'' was also from that issue. The pilot's mask is unbuckled, revealing the lower half of his face (as opposed to ''Bratatat!'' and ''Jet Pilot'' where only the eyes are visible). The

onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia (or rarely echoism) is a type of word, or the process of creating a word, that phonetics, phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Common onomatopoeias in English include animal noises such as Oin ...

presented graphically appears as a

cliché A cliché ( or ; ) is a saying, idea, or element of an artistic work that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning, novelty, or literal and figurative language, figurative or artistic power, even to the point of now being b ...

. In comparison to the original Lichtenstein increased the required number of downed planes for

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

recognition by two, possibly reflecting his own training.

Critical appraisal

The work is among those known for "bursting shapes and colors" in its graphical content and excellent sound and action in its narrative content. It is one of several Lichtenstein works that depicts what one author describes as a "male violence fantasy". Original artwork artist Russ Heath had accurately depicted the downward slanting gun sight and angled cockpit control panel. Lichtenstein depicted these without any slant, making them parallel to the surface of the canvas, which in a sense makes the viewer feel as if he is taking the place of the pilot.

Sources

External links

Lichtenstein Foundation website
{{Roy Lichtenstein 1962 paintings 20th-century portraits Aviation art Military art Paintings by Roy Lichtenstein Portraits by American artists Paintings in the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art

Background

Critical appraisal

See also

Sources

External links