Goethe FS. II 273 is the final screenprint in Andy Warhol’s Goethe portfolio, a series of four portraits created in 1982 that reimagine 18th-century German literary giant Johann Wolfgang von Goethe through the bold lens of Pop Art. Warhol drew inspiration for the series from Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein’s iconic neoclassical painting, which he encountered at the Städel Museum in Frankfurt. This encounter catalyzed Warhol’s decision to reinterpret Goethe in his signature style—flattened planes of color, layered imagery, and hand-drawn linework.

The Goethe portfolio was co-published in Germany by Editions Schellmann & Klüser and Galerie Hans Mayer. Editions Schellmann—an important European publisher of Warhol’s work—had previously produced his Joseph Beuys series and later distributed the Details of Renaissance Paintings portfolio. Galerie Hans Mayer, a major figure in Warhol’s European reception, had introduced his work to Düsseldorf in a 1969 exhibition that helped establish American Pop Art’s presence in Germany.

Goethe 273, like the other works in the series, is a vivid study in color experimentation—a fitting tribute to Goethe himself, who authored Theory of Colours in 1810, a philosophical and scientific exploration of chromatics. Warhol embraced this connection by employing a palette that feels both unexpected and symbolic. In Goethe 273, the poet’s face is rendered in a soft plum, framed by hand-drawn lines in vivid red. That same red defines the brim of his hat, which fades from deep navy to black. A golden yellow illuminates his hair, contrasting against the neutral tones of his white cravat and grey coat. The background is a light, sandy orange that enhances the vibrancy of the figure and provides a contemporary visual tension.

Warhol’s use of such non-naturalistic color choices underscores his conceptual approach: he is not simply portraying Goethe, but reimagining him for the modern and postmodern viewer. The layering of color, gesture, and tone collapses centuries of artistic tradition into a singular Pop vision. In doing so, Goethe 273 offers not just a portrait, but a dialogue between past and present—between Enlightenment philosophy and 20th-century image culture.

As the final entry in the portfolio—following Goethe 270, 271, and 272—Goethe 273 completes a visual narrative that bridges classical art history and contemporary iconography.