Marcel Duchamp

Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968) had a huge impact on 20^th century art through his painting and mixed media art.   He was a French-American painter, sculptor, and writer whose work is associated with Dadaism, Cubism and Surrealism.  He had a conceptual approach to art.  Mr. Duchamp is quoted as saying that he wanted to “put art back in the service of the mind”.  He has been described as many things, including “a one-man movement”.   He believed that art could be about ideas instead of worldly things and this idea has influenced many generations of artists.   He challenged other artists of his time and refused to accept their standards as his own.  He also did not like to show his work often and refused to have a style of art that would be easily recognized as his work.