In 1904-05, Duchamp studied painting at the Académie Julian, in Paris. He began to paint in 1908, and exhibited for the first time one year later in the same city. After producing several canvases in the current mode of Fauvism, he turned toward experimentation and the avant-garde. He painted very little after 1915, although he continued until 1923 to work on an abstract work known as "The Large Glass", composed in oil and wire on glass, which was enthusiastically received by the surrealists. Duchamp’s radical and iconoclastic ideas preceded the founding of the Dada movement in Zurich in 1916 In sculpture, his 'Ready-Mades' consisted simply of everyday banal objects, such as a urinal, a bottle rack, etc., which he signed with his name after giving them titles totally unconnected with their functional use. His "Bicycle Wheel", an early example of kinetic art, was mounted on a kitchen stool. After his short creative period, Duchamp was content to let others develop the themes he had originated; his pervasive influence was crucial to the development of Surrealism, Dada, and Pop-Art. Duchamp became an American citizen in 1955. Through the charm of his personality and his works he exerted great influence on young American artists. Marcel Duchamp died in Paris in 1968. |
