Duchamp's Fountain authorship debate and Italian provocations
A recent theory claims Marcel Duchamp did not author the 1917 urinal Fountain but stole the idea from Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven. This hypothesis, fueled by #MeToo era revisionism, is debunked by Duchamp scholar Stefan Banz in his 2019 book Marcel Duchamp: Richard Mutt's Fountain. Banz provides evidence including the address on the label in Alfred Stieglitz's photo matching Louise Norton's, and contemporary newspaper accounts. The article also connects to Italian provocations: Guido Keller dropped a chamber pot on the Italian Parliament in 1920, and Osvaldo Licini's 1950 work Abstract Landscape/Shit prefigures Piero Manzoni's Artist's Shit. Claudia Salaris's book Alla festa della rivoluzione covers Keller's Fiume adventure. The article is by Marco Senaldi, published on Artribune.
Key facts
- Marcel Duchamp's Fountain (1917) was rejected by the Society of Independent Artists as indecent.
- Duchamp resigned as commissioner after the rejection.
- A theory claims Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven was the true author of Fountain.
- Stefan Banz's 2019 book debunks this theory with evidence including the address on Stieglitz's photo.
- Baroness Elsa collaborated with Duchamp on the lost film Elsa shaving her pubic hair in 1921.
- Guido Keller dropped a chamber pot on the Italian Parliament in November 1920.
- Osvaldo Licini's Abstract Landscape/Shit (1950) predates Piero Manzoni's Artist's Shit by a decade.
- Claudia Salaris's book Alla festa della rivoluzione (2002, new ed. 2019) covers Keller's Fiume adventure.
Entities
Artists
- Marcel Duchamp
- Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven
- Alfred Stieglitz
- Guido Keller
- Osvaldo Licini
- Piero Manzoni
- Louise Norton
- Francesco Baracca
- Gabriele D'Annunzio
Institutions
- Society of Independent Artists
- Verlag fur Moderne Kunst
- Les presses du réel
- Les éditions KMD
- Il Mulino
- Artribune
Locations
- Rome
- Italy
- Fiume
- Italian Parliament