Marcel Duchamp

Marcel Duchamp was a French artist who broke down the boundaries between works of art and everyday objects. He was one of the most influential figures in modern art, associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. He challenged the conventional notions of what art is and what it can do, and he experimented with different mediums such as painting, sculpture, collages, short films, body art, and found objects. He is best known for his ready-mades, ordinary objects that he selected and modified, such as a bicycle wheel mounted on a stool, a urinal signed "R. Mutt", and a bottle rack. He also created complex and enigmatic works such as Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 (1912), The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even (1915–1923), and Étant donnés (1946–1966). He used humor, irony, and wordplay to subvert the expectations of the viewers and to question the role of the artist and the art market. He also had a keen interest in chess, which he considered as an art form. He was a master player who represented France in several international tournaments and wrote a book on chess endgames. He adopted a female alter ego named Rrose Sélavy, who appeared in some of his works and photographs. He collaborated with many other artists and friends, such as Man Ray, Francis Picabia, Salvador Dali, André Breton, and his sister Suzanne Duchamp. He influenced many movements and artists in the 20th and 21st centuries, such as Pop Art, Fluxus, Minimalism, Andy Warhol, John Cage, Marcel Broodthaers, Joseph Beuys, and Jeff Koons.