Composition IV (C.293, Musical Notes), 1995

"Composition IV (C.293)" is a screenprint on BFK Rives created by Roy Lichtenstein in 1995 for his 'Musical Notes' series. From the edition of 159, the artwork is signed and dated 'rf Lichtenstein '95' and annotated lower right. The artwork is framed in a contemporary white frame and has a framed size of 29 x 34". The artwork ships framed and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

"Composition IV" is part of a late series of dynamic abstract screenprints created by Lichtenstein in the mid-1990s. These works build on his deep engagement with Constructivism, musical notation, and formalist abstraction, combining elements of graphic design and painterly composition in a seamless, visually arresting language.

"Composition IV" features jumbled fragments of sheet music—bars, staffs, and notes—layered as visual elements rather than functional musical symbols. Fields of solid red and yellow, provide vibrant, rhythmic anchors in the composition. Diagonal stripes in red and black, echo both mechanical printing and early 20th-century avant-garde graphics. Despite the title "Composition IV" referencing music, this is not a work about sound, but rather about visual rhythm, optical syncopation, and spatial tension. The collision of musical notation and abstract patterning creates a composition of movement and interruption, much like jazz or experimental classical music rendered in color and form.

The musical references in "Composition IV" connect to Lichtenstein’s long-standing interest in systems of representation. Sheet music, like comic strips or mirrors, is a codified visual language — something to be read, interpreted, and performed. By fragmenting, layering, and abstracting these musical symbols, Lichtenstein treats them as purely visual forms, freeing them from function and re-imagining them as compositional tools. The result is a symphonic collision of form and color, where visual rhythm replaces auditory rhythm, and art becomes an improvisational act of structure and surprise. It’s a graphic jazz solo, executed with the precision of a master printmaker.

Created in 1995, just two years before Lichtenstein’s death, this work reflects a culmination of his formal concerns—color, abstraction, pop culture, and structured composition. The fusion of musical notation and Pop abstraction is rare in Lichtenstein’s oeuvre and offers crossover appeal to collectors of both visual art and music-themed works. "Composition IV" presents Lichtenstein’s enduring dialogue with modern visual language—where the eye, like the ear, is invited to listen for form, color, and surprise.