Marcel Duchamp was born in 1887, in Blainville, Normandy. His father was a notary and his brothers were artists as well. Duchamp studied at the Academie Julian in 1904-1905 and his figure paintings were inspired by Fauvism artists such as Matisse. In 1911, Duchamp created his own style of Cubism which consisted of earthy colours, mechanical forms and a sense of movement, which was also influenced by futurism. This style was exemplified in his famous and controversial painting, Nude Descending Staircase, No 2. Personally, I’m not a fan of this painting because I find the colours kind of drabby but I do like the sense of movement that is happening. Still, this painting really doesn’t appeal to me in any way.
Nude Descending Staircase was painted in 1912 and caused a sensation at the 1913 New York Armory show. Duchamp did little painting after that, and created the first of his ‘readymades’ in 1913. He used everyday objects, some slightly altered, and designated them as works of art. His earliest readymade was his Bicycle Wheel (1913), which was a wheel mounted on a wooden stool. Another readymade was his snow shovel titled In Advance of the Broken Arm (1915).
One of his best known works was a urinal, which was titled Fountain. He submitted this piece to an exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists in New York in 1917. This piece broke the conventional understanding of the nature and status of art. Duchamp used prefabricated objects as he said they freed him from the ‘trap’ of developing a particular style.
Duchamp lived mostly in New York from 1915 to 1923, and then in Paris from 1923 to 1942. Duchamp became an American citizen in 1955. He was a very important figure in the art world. Duchamp also was interested in experimental film and continued to organize exhibitions such as the Exposition Internationale du Surrealisme in Paris in 1938. He was also an avid chess player, participating in tournaments.
During his last twenty years of life, he worked on a three-dimensional realization of The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even Etant donnes (Philadelphia Museum of Art). His first one-man exhibition was held at the Arts Club of Chicago in 1937.
Duchamp died in 1968, in Neuilly on the outskirts of Paris. He defied the rules of conventional aesthetics and his famous ready-mades revolutionized the world of art. He also was part of the Dadaist and helped organize Surrealist exhibitions. His art has faced a lot of criticism, and although it personally doesn’t really appeal to me, I do respect him as an artist for the way he breaks traditions and experiments with various styles.
Works Cited:
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/marcel-duchamp-1036
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