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Marcel Duchamp's Unhappy Readymade

c. 1919-1920
Attributed to Suzanne Duchamp (French, 1889–1963) Attributed to Jean Joseph Crotti (French (born Switzerland), 1878–1958)
Upon learning that his sister, Suzanne, had married the artist Jean Crotti in Paris while he was still in Argentina, Marcel Duchamp (American (born France), 1887 - 1968) sent as a wedding gift the idea of the “unhappy readymade.” He instructed them to hang a geometry book outside so that its pages would be torn apart and its text would be erased by the elements. Suzanne in turn photographed the book and later created a painting in homage to this gesture that welcomed the effects of chance and life.

Object Details

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