An exciting and accessible introduction to one of the greatest and most mysterious artists of the 20th century. This richly illustrated edition explores the full career of the highly influential and endlessly fascinating Franco-American artist Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968). As a pioneer, his creative output was based on a fundamental questioning of what art is, resulting in him remaining mysterious as an artist due to his enigmatic personality and the unconventional nature of his work.

Focusing on Duchamp's collection housed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Essential Duchamp tells the artist's story through four key periods. The book begins with his early paintings and involvement with the avant-garde, then chronicles his abandonment of painting and invention of the ready-made. It follows with the creation of his pseudonym Rrose Sélavy and the visual experiments of the interwar years, and finally, the creation of Étant donnés (1946–66), the work that occupied the artist during the last two decades of his life.

Shorter accompanying texts include explanations of key terms used by Duchamp for his innovative ideas—ready-made, precision of optics, pictorial naturalism, and infrathin—as well as interviews and statements by the artist about art and his ideas.

Pages: 200, Year of Publication: 2017, Dimensions: 18.7x18.7cm