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