Ingrid Bergman (The Nun)

Warhol was raised in the Byzantine Catholic tradition, the symbols of which resurface throughout his career. Combining his interests in religious iconography and popular culture, this work was commissioned by a Swedish art gallery to pay tribute to one of Sweden’s most notable actresses, Ingrid Bergman (1915–1982). Warhol sourced the still for the composition from the black-and-white film The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945), in which Bergman played the character Sister Mary Benedict. Warhol maintained a sense of ambiguity in much of his work. This image embodies reverence and piety, alongside irony and humor—both in the melodramatic scale and the nun’s garishly painted lips.