Roy Lichtenstein’s Composition II (C. 298), created in 1996, builds upon the same visual and conceptual framework as Composition I, translating the ephemeral qualities of music into the rigid, graphic vocabulary of Pop Art. Here, sweeping staves coil and intersect across the picture plane, entangling musical notes within their looping geometry. The movement of the score is palpable, yet fixed—an orchestration of sound turned into image, rhythm into pattern.

Rendered with his signature use of flat color fields, Ben-Day dots, and bold black outlines, Lichtenstein creates a visual counterpoint between the strict mechanics of musical notation and the playful, almost improvisational flow of the composition. The intertwining staff lines mimic the complexity of polyphonic sound, where multiple voices and rhythms overlap to form harmony. By isolating and exaggerating these elements, Lichtenstein reveals both the beauty and the absurdity of attempting to “capture” music within a static frame.

Color plays a vital role in Composition II. The punctuations of red, yellow, and blue notes animate the otherwise black-and-white structure, suggesting tonal shifts or bursts of sound. These bright accents parallel the function of musical dynamics—introducing contrast, emphasis, and surprise. Lichtenstein’s strategic placement of color recalls the syncopation of jazz or the sudden crescendos of symphonic music, reaffirming his fascination with rhythm as both aural and visual experience.

The work functions as a meta-commentary on artistic translation. Just as Brushstrokes transformed the immediacy of painterly gesture into a stylized icon, the Composition series freezes the time-based fluidity of music into static, mechanical form. The flowing staff lines appear animated, yet their rhythm is frozen forever on the page—a witty meditation on the impossibility of fully capturing one art form within another.

Created in the final decade of Lichtenstein’s career, Composition II underscores his lifelong interest in the relationship between perception, representation, and abstraction. By turning music into Pop iconography, he elevates the everyday symbol of the musical score into high art while simultaneously questioning its very legibility. Is it a score to be played, or simply an image to be viewed? The ambiguity is the point, positioning Composition II as both parody and homage to the universality of music and the permanence of visual art.