Analysis of Warhol's mystifying piece of pop iconography. Andy Warhol's Byzantine Catholic upbringing gave him an early education in art. In 1962, he made Gold Marilyn Monroe, an icon of 20th century pop culture. There are many sides to Warhol. He was a commercial artist, an experimental artist and filmmaker, a an openly gay man, a socialite, and a devout Catholic. His art reflects all these facets of his personality. But the rich history of Byzantine art plays an outsized role in Gold Marilyn Monroe. Art history meets 1950's Hollywood.