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![La Boîte-en-Valise [Box in a Suitcase]](http://www.nationalgalleries.org/media_collection/6/GMA 3472.jpg)
- © Succession Marcel Duchamp/ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2004
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![La Boîte-en-Valise [Box in a Suitcase]](http://www.nationalgalleries.org/media_collection/6/GMA%203472.jpg)
La Boîte-en-Valise [Box in a Suitcase]
Marcel Duchamp
- © Succession Marcel Duchamp/ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2004
Marcel Duchamp
La Boîte-en-Valise [Box in a Suitcase]1935 - 1941This leather case contains sixty-nine miniature reproductions of Duchamp's works. This is number two of twenty-four de-luxe versions of the case. Each of these features a different, hand-coloured 'original' fixed to the inside of the lid. The box 'unpacks' in such a way that some sections slide out, with other folders and black-mounted prints inside. For Duchamp there was no clear distinction between the original and the reproduction, a concept cleverly embodied in this piece. The case is also reminiscent of a travelling salesman's display case, containing a selection of Duchamp's pre-1935 work like a portable museum, made for his move to New York in 1942.
Glossary Open
An image pressed or stamped onto paper or fabric. This encompasses a wide variety of techniques, usually produced in multiples, although one-off prints, known as monoprints, are also included. The term is also applied to photographic images.
Details
- Accession no. GMA 3472
- Medium Leather-covered case containing miniature replicas and photographs of Duchamp's works (De-luxe edition no. 2/20)
- Size 10.00 x 38.00 x 40.50 cm (closed)
- Credit Presented anonymously 1989
Marcel Duchamp (French / American, 1887 - 1968)
Duchamp was born in France, but lived for much of his adult life in America. In 1911 he was painting in a cubist style, but he virtually stopped painting after 1912. Duchamp was intrigued by the idea that ordinary, mass-produced things could be considered as art objects in their own right. He preferred simply to sign, and sometimes alter, household objects, terming them 'readymades'. On moving to America in 1915, Duchamp became a leading figure in the New York Dada group, along with Picabia and Man Ray. His questioning attitude towards definitions of authenticity, originality, artistry and authorship has been immensely influential.
Glossary Open
Cubism
A style of painting originated by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso in the first two decades of the 20th century. Instead of painting a figure or object from a fixed position they represented it from multiple viewpoints.
Dada
A radical artistic and literary movement that was a reaction against the cultural climate that supported the First World War. The Dadaists took an anti-establishment attitude, questioning art's status and favouring performance and collage over traditional art techniques. Many Dadaists went on to become involved with Surrealism.
Readymade
A term coined by Marcel Duchamp to describe an existing object that is taken from its original context and regarded as a work of art.