Marcel Duchamp

Analyzes Marcel Duchamp's painting Nude Descending a Staircase, painted in 1912, and its relationship to both the movement of twentieth century art and to Duchamp's work as a whole. Examines the history of the painting, influences on Duchamp, the symbolism of the painting, aesthetic elements such as color and shadow, and the development of Duchamp's particular version of Cubism. Discusses Duchamp's fascination with both movement and the dissolution of forms which can be seen in both Nude Descending a Staircase and in Duchamp's later work The Readymades.