"Nude Descending a Staircase, No.2"
Marcel Duchamp - Oil On Canvas - 89 x 147 cm
Introduction
Nude Descending a Staircase, No.2 is a 1912 painting by French artist
Marcel Duchamp. The work is widely regarded as a Modernist classic and has become one of the most famous of its time. It was first presented at the 1912 Salon des Indépendants in Paris, where it was rejected by the Cubists as being too Futurist. It was then exhibited with the Cubists at Galeries Dalmau's Exposició d'Art Cubista, in Barcelona, 20 April–10 May 1912. The painting was subsequently shown, and ridiculed, at the 1913 Armory Show in New York City.
Description
The work seemingly depicts a figure demonstrating an abstract movement in its ochres and browns. The discernible "body parts" of the figure are composed of nested, conical and cylindrical abstract elements, assembled together in such a way as to suggest rhythm and convey the movement of the figure merging into itself. Dark outlines limit the contours of the body while serving as motion lines that emphasize the dynamics of the moving figure, while the accented arcs of the dotted lines seem to suggest a thrusting pelvic motion. The movement seems to be rotated counterclockwise from the upper left to the lower right corner, where the gradient of the apparently frozen sequence corresponding to the bottom right to top left dark, respectively, becomes more transparent. At the edges of the picture, the steps are indicated in darker colors.
Historical Context
Proto Cubism Art Movement, also referred to as Protocubism, Early Cubism, and Pre-Cubism or Précubisme, is an intermediary transition phase in the history of art chronologically extending from 1906 to 1910. This period is characterized by a move towards the radical geometrization of form and a reduction or limitation of the color pale.
Reception
The painting met with a hostile public reaction at the 1913 Armory Show, which made the case for modern art to large audiences in New York. This cemented Duchamp’s reputation as an artistic provocateur and precipitated his break with the Cubists.
Location
Nude Descending a Staircase, No.2 is now in the Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection of the
Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Conclusion
Nude Descending a Staircase, No.2 by Marcel Duchamp is an iconic painting that exemplifies his extremely original engagement with Cubism and dynamic movement. The work has become one of the most famous paintings of its time and continues to inspire artists and art lovers alike. To learn more about this painting and other works by Marcel Duchamp, visit
Marcel Duchamp's page on WahooArt.
References
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Marcel Duchamp - Nude Descending a Staircase, No.2
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Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp