Marcel Duchamp (1887 – 1968) was a French artist whose work is strongly associated with the Cubist and Dadaist movements. Some regard Duchamp as the one of the most significant artists of the twentieth century. His “Ready-made” art pieces, such as the Fountain, challenged the traditional definition of what art could be and opened the door for more experimentation by the artists who followed him. He had a profound influence on the development of Western art post Work War I. One of his most iconic paintings is Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 (1912); it combines qualities from both the Cubist and Futurist movements. Duchamp was no doubt a very experimental, avant-garde artist who constantly challenged the status quo of the art world. He later abandoned art altogether and focused the rest of his life on chess.
Paintings by Marcel Duchamp in Chronological Order:
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| Portrait of Yvonne Duchamp, 1901 | Yvonne (in kimono), 1901 | Church at Blainville, 1902 |
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| Landscape at Blainville, 1902 | Parva Domus, Magna Quies, 1902 | Play, 1902 |
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| Portrait of Jacques Villon, c.1905 | Man seated by a window, 1907 | Portrait of Yvonne Duchamp, c.1907 |
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| Chauvel, 1910 | Chess Game, 1910 | Laundry Barge, 1910 |
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| Paradise, Adam and Eve, c.1910 | Portrait of Dr. Dumouchel, 1910 | Portrait of Dr. Ferdinand Tribout, 1910 |
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| Portrait of the artist’s father, 1910 | About Young Sister, 1911 | Japanese Apple Tree, 1911 |
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| Landscape, Study for ‘Paradise’, 1911 | Portrait (Dulcinea), 1911 | Portrait of Chess Players, 1911 |
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| Sad Young Man in a Train, 1911 | Sonata, 1911 | The Chess Players, 1911 |
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| Young Girl and Man in Spring, 1911 | Yvonne and Magdeleine Torn in Tatters, 1911 | Bride, 1912 |
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| King and Queen Surrounded by Swift Nudes, 1912 | Portrait of Gustave Candel’s Mother, 1912 | Transition of Virgin into a Bride, 1912 |
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| Bicycle Wheel, 1913 | Bottlerack, 1914 | Chocolate Grinder, 1914 |
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| Network of Stoppages, 1914 | To Have the Apprentice in the Sun, 1914 | Glider Containing a Water Mill in Neighboring Metals, 1915 |
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| In Advance of the Broken Arm, 1915 | Nine Malice Moulds, c.1915 | Apolinere Enamelled, 1916 |
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| With Hidden Noise, 1916 | Fountain, 1917 | Hat Rack, 1917 |
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| To Be Looked at (from the Other Side of the Glass) with One Eye, Close to, for Almost an Hour, 1918 | 50 cc of Paris Air, 1919 | L.H.O.O.Q, Mona Lisa with moustache, 1919 |
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| Fresh Widow, 1920 | Rotary Glass Plates (Precision Optics), 1920 | The Brawl at Austerlitz, 1921 |
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| Why not Sneeze, Rose Sélavy, 1921 | Disks Bearing Spirals, 1923 | The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, 1915-1923 |
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| Monte Carlo bond, 1924 | Rotary demisphere, 1924 | Rotary demisphere, 1925 |
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| Rotorelief n°11 – Total Eclipse / Rotorelief n°12 – White spiral, 1935 | Genre Allegory [George Washington], 1943 | Cover design for “View” magazine, 1945 |
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| Cover for “Young Cherry Trees Secured Against Hares”, 1946 | Self Portrait in Profile, 1958 | With My Tongue in My Cheek, 1959 |