|
Title |
Given: 1. The Waterfall/ 2. The Illuminating Gas. |
|
Translated Title |
Etant donnés: 1. La Chute d'eau/ 2. Le Gaz d'éclairage. |
|
Creator |
Duchamp, Marcel (French painter, sculptor, and writer, 1887-1968) |
|
Date |
1946-1966 |
|
Cultural Context |
French
European
Western European |
|
Subject |
Mixed media
Women
Nudes
Light
Lighting
Gas-lighting
Lamps
Luminescent works
Trees
Plants
Forests
Landscapes (Representations)
Lakes & ponds
Waterfalls |
|
Description |
Mixed media assemblage including: an old wooden door, black velvet, bricks, wooden table, leather stretched over an armature of metal and other material to form a female nude, human hair, gas lamp (bec Auer type), twigs, aluminum, iron, glass, painted glass, ground glass, linoleum, cotton, light bulb, fluorescent light, spotlight, electric motor, etc.; "At the end of the large gallery where the Large Glass and the other Duchamps of the Arensberg collection are shown opens a small room in which the visitor is confronted with an old barn door of the type common in the European countryside. Approaching the door, he will notice two fairly large oblique holes at average eye level. On looking through them he will probably have to hold his breath. The visitor will behold a scene of unique beauty that associates a perfect trompe l'oeil realism with an irrational unreal setting. As in a science-fiction novel the back wall of the barn suddenly disappears to give way to a hilly, wooded landscape. A thick cluster of trees, in late summer with autumn tonalities, stretches along the horizon, outlined against a light turquoise sky with a few solitary clouds. To the right, just below the line of trees and escaping from the rocks surrounded by thick vegetation, is a waterfall slowly and endlessly precipitating in a wide pond. Surrounding the deeply incased pond and covering the whole background, is an intensely exuberant plant life on which floats, at certain points, a light mist, enhancing the feeling of depth and magnitude. In the foreground a battered brick wall - the impression is that the aperture in the wall has been made by an old-fashioned cannon shot - discovers the Bride finally stripped bare by her Bachelor. […] The Bride is spread on a bed of dead twigs and fallen leaves. Her legs are provocatively open, offering with exhibitionist gusto the sight of her hairless sex. Her left hand is raised and holds a glowing gas lamp, as if to better illuminate her cunt. Her head cannot be seen - the anonymity of the Bride must be preserved. A wave of blond hair partially covers her left shoulder. The whole scene is bathed in a brilliant light which has a peculiar quality that escapes definition." (Excerpt, p.558) |
|
Material |
Mixed media
Wood (plant material)
Velvet
Cloth
Textiles
Brick (clay product)
Leather
Metal
Hair
Human hair
Aluminum (metal)
Iron (metal)
Glass (material)
Cotton (fiber)
Light (energy)
Tables (support furniture)
Linoleum
Doors
Gas lamps
Lamps (lighting devices)
Fluorescent lamps (lighting devices)
Spotlights
Motors |
|
Measurements |
Approximately 95 1/2" (242.5 cm) high, 70" (177.8 cm) wide, 49" (124.5 cm) deep |
|
Technique |
Assemblage (sculpture technique)
Sculpting |
|
Work Type |
Sculpture
Assemblages (sculpture)
Mixed media |
|
Repository |
Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) |
|
Source |
Schwarz, Arturo. The Complete Works of Marcel Duchamp. 2nd rev. ed. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1970. (p.559, cat.no.392). |
|
Rights |
All rights reserved. No part of the contents of this book [Schwarz] may be reproduced without the written permission of the publishers Harry N. Abrams, Incorporated, New York. |
|
Digital Publisher |
University of Louisville Department of Fine Arts/Allen R. Hite Art Institute Visual Resources Center |
|
Format |
image/jpeg |
|
Digital File Name |
VRC 649-15.jpg |
|
Rating |
|
Visual Resources Center Digital Image Collection
