Marcel duchamp nude descending a staircase

Nude Descending a Staircase, No. The work is widely regarded as a Modernist classic and has become one of the most famous of its time. Yet the work was exhibited with the same group at Galeries J. The discernible "body parts" of the figure are composed of nested, conical and cylindrical abstract elements, assembled together in such a way as to suggest rhythm and convey the movement of the figure merging into itself. Dark outlines limit the contours of the body while serving as motion lines that emphasize the dynamics of the moving figure, while the accented arcs of the dotted lines seem to suggest a thrusting pelvic motion.

The readymades were appropriated everyday objects, which Duchamp used to question the notion of art and to remove the notions of adoration and attraction surrounding art which he found unnecessary. From , Duchamp largely stopped producing art and began to play chess. He traveled to Buenos Aires to play before continuing to live between Paris and New York, staying more permanently in Greenwich Village from During this period, he was more of a consultant to artists, dealers and collectors.

It is an image that the viewer can not immediately understand. The "up - down" orientation is already difficult and is only made a little easier by the large inscription bearing the name and title of the painting. A wealth of shadowed, sharply-edged forms are set in sharp contrast to each other with dark contours. However, some of the lines are not square or split, but rather curved arcs.

But after facing scads of rejection, mockery, and even a presidential put-down, this provocative piece rose to the ranks of masterpiece. Nude Descending a Staircase, No. However, Duchamp's use of 20 different static positions created a sense of motion and visual violence that Cubists claimed made this piece more Futurist than a true example of their avant-garde art movement.