安迪·沃荷

Galleria d'Arte Emilio Mazzoli, Modena

Alessandro Grassi, Milan (acquired directly from the above in 1993)

Thence by descent to the present owner

David Bourdon, Warhol, New York 1989, p. 390, installation view

Achille Bonito Oliva, Collezione Privata, Milan 1993, p. 67, illustrated in colour

Tony Shafrazi, Ed., Andy Warhol Portraits, New York 2007, p. 221, illustrated in colour 

Colour: The colour in the printed catalogue is fairly accurate, although it is much more saturated in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. Very close inspection reveals minor wear to all four corner tips and evidence of light handling to the extreme edges. There are two unobtrusive tension cracks to the top right hand corner. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultra-violet light.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Andy Warhol’s portraits of the 1970s and 80s were a paradigm shift, a complete reinvigoration of the genre. Using his still revolutionary screen-printing technique, Warhol documented the characters of the international beau monde and single-handedly "revived the crackle, glitter, and chic of older traditions of society portraiture" (Robert Rosenblum quoted in: Exhibition Catalogue, New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, Andy Warhol: Portraits of the 70s, 1980, p. 18). The present work shows Sandro Chia, an Italian artist, depicted in a bold manner entirely befitting of both his character and artistic style.

Warhol’s society portraits are the largest and longest series from his prolific and productive life. Some have compared them to the grand-tradition of Greco-Roman statuary in their comprehensive record of the great and good of contemporaneous culture and persistent use of the bust format. Others have pointed to the influence of police mug shots; Warhol was fascinated by these images and had directly relied on them in his celebrated early work Thirteen Most Wanted Men (1964). Warhol recognised the immutable power of the celebrity photographs in gossip pages and fashion magazines; he identified the influence they had over their viewers, and exploited it, on an industrial level, for his own artistic ends.

Sandro Chia was a fitting choice for a Warhol portrait: himself a prominent artist, and a leading member of the international movement known as the Transavanguardia. A sense of overt virility is captured in the present work: Chia is shown shirtless, with black shadows chiselling in his features. His hirsute chest combines with a loosely held white cigarette and a sultry, almost aggressive, stare to create an overall impression of a considered, Marlon-Brando-esque, masculinity.

In its bright limited colour scheme, in its blank unmodulated background, and in its stylised studied gaze and pose, Untitled (Sandro Chia) seems to adumbrate the ‘photoshop’ era of glamour. This is a trait central to the celebrated portrait series, and one that adds to the pseudo-utopian mood: everyone is beautiful, everyone is famous, and everyone is portrayed exactly and as perfectly as is possible. In his use of the polaroid camera and the screen-printing press, Andy Warhol created a portrait machine. However, in his cunning and contemporaneously fitting choice of sitters, not least Sandro Chia, Warhol created a fame machine, and installed himself at the helm.