Bedroom Painting No. 15

Mundane objects become erotic in Tom Wesselmann’s Bedroom Painting No. 15. The shiny orange and the bright yellow pillow that dominate the composition coyly resemble women’s breasts, while an extended pink foot with painted toenails suggests a lounging female nude. The rose and the lover’s photograph are romantic symbols, but they too become highly suggestive. For example, the photograph—a self-portrait—positions the artist and the viewer as voyeurs of the seductive scene. With his early interest in cartoons, Wesselmann developed a talent for simplified and colorful imagery that seamlessly blends commercial and sexual desires.

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