Marcel Duchamp

Feuille de vigne femelle [Female Fig Leaf]

About this artwork

Female Fig-leaf was originally cast in plaster. Duchamp gave one version as a parting gift to his friend Man Ray, who left New York for Paris in 1951. This is one of ten bronze casts, made in 1961. The title of the piece suggests concealment, but 'Female Fig-leaf' may, in fact, be a cast of a woman's genitals. Duchamp did not divulge the manufacturing process of the work, and it has been described as both a simulated and an actual cast. He frequently used eroticism in his work, and in this piece combines eroticism with shock value.

Updated before 2020

  • artist:
  • title:
    Feuille de vigne femelle [Female Fig Leaf]
  • date created:
    1950/61
  • materials:
    Bronze
  • measurements:
    9.00 x 14.00 x 12.50 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Bequeathed by Gabrielle Keiller 1995
  • accession number:
    GMA 3967
  • gallery:
  • subject:
  • glossary:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
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Marcel Duchamp

Marcel Duchamp