Andy Warhol lives on in our collective memory as an extroverted eccentric with dark sunglasses and a white-blonde wig. It is widely unknown, however, that Warhol was in fact a shy introvert who adopted this flamboyant outward appearance in the late 1960s as a kind of protective disguise—and, at the same time, his trademark. It was only at the College of Fine Arts at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in his hometown of Pittsburgh that the slight, chronically pale student suffering from pigment disorders managed to overcome the trauma of isolation thanks to his outstanding artistic talent. In the summer of 1949, at the age of 21, Warhol moved to New York, where he initially worked as a commercial artist. In the fall of 1949, he received his first commission for a shoe campaign for “Glamour” magazine. Eventually, he became an acclaimed observer and chronicler of his time through drawing, photography, painting, and printmaking in the decades that followed. From then on, his work as a commercial artist was reflected in his minimalist, strictly linear drawing style, which he later transferred to silkscreen prints using stencils—as in his legendary portfolio “Campbell’s Soup Can” (1968)—becoming his unmistakable artistic signature. Warhol's focus was now not only on contemporary celebrities but also on American consumer goods. This allowed him to present objects in a completely new way, boldly and effectively exploring the boundary between art and commerce. Similar to the “Campbell’s Soup Cans”, “Chanel N° 5” enabled Warhol to translate the serial principle of the commercial world into serial silkscreen printing and, thereby, seemingly paradoxical, to leave behind icons of Pop Art that still captivate today's viewers with their fascinating aura. With “Chanel N° 5”, sheet 5 from the “ADS 1985” portfolio comprising a total of ten motifs based on American advertising campaigns, Warhol created an iconic symbol of the zeitgeist of the 1980s, which, due to its exceptional quality, is considered the most sought-after motif in the portfolio today; the portfolio also includes silkscreen prints based on advertising campaigns for Paramount, Apple, Volkswagen, Disney, and Mobilgas. With a keen sense for contemporary motifs, Warhol created a Pop Art icon with “Chanel N° 5”—the fragrance in the iconic bottle—two years before his unexpected death. [JS]