Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) was arguably the most radically avant-garde artist of the twentieth century. In 1918, Duchamp made the most momentous decision an artist can make: he stopped painting altogether. He spent the rest of his life exploring alternatives to traditional artistic practice in a relentless effort to avoid repeating himself. As a result, Duchamp pioneered new ways of thinking about art and the artistic process that have inspired generations of artists.

This book, written by Dada scholar Francis M. Naumann, traces the course of Duchamp's life as an artist by concentrating on the elements of replication and appropriation that form a unifying factor in his creative output and establish his great contribution to the art of the twentieth century. His inventiveness as a graphic designer, his wit in appropriating readymade objects as works of art, and his ability to create unique masterpieces out of reproductions made from his earlier work are brilliantly revealed in this important and richly illustrated study of the least understood aspects of Duchamp's artistic achievements.


À mesure que le siècle s'achève, artistes, historiens et critiques s'accordent à considérer que Duchamp a exercé une influence des plus déterminantes sur l'art du XXe siècle en particulier, sur les mouvements Pop, Arte Povera ou Conceptuel. À lui seul il est parvenu à changer notre manière de considérer l'art de notre temps et jusqu'à sa définition même. L'ouvrage de Francis M. Naumann offre l'avantage d'être une monographie très documentée qui associe à l'étude chronologique de l'oeuvre une grille de lecture des concepts d'appropriation et de réplique au moyen desquels Duchamp a révolutionné l'Art occidental au début du XXe siècle.