Alchemist of the Avant-Garde: The Case of Marcel Duchamp

John F. Moffitt

Feb. 2012 · State University of New York Press

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Acknowledged as the "Artist of the Century," Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968) left a legacy that dominates the art world to this day. Inventing the ironically dégagé attitude of "ready-made" art-making, Duchamp heralded the postmodern era and replaced Pablo Picasso as the role model for avant-garde artists. John F. Moffitt challenges commonly accepted interpretations of Duchamp's art and persona by showing that his mature art, after 1910, is largely drawn from the influence of the occult traditions. Moffitt demonstrates that the key to understanding the cryptic meaning of Duchamp's diverse artworks and writings is alchemy, the most pictorial of all the occult philosophies and sciences.

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John F. Moffitt is Professor Emeritus of Art History at New Mexico State University. He is the author of Spanish Painting; Occultism in Avant-Garde Art: The Case of Joseph Beuys; Velázquez, práctica e idea: Estudios dispersos; Art Forgery: The Case of the Lady of Elche; The Arts in Spain; and Picturing Extraterrestrials: Alien Imagery in Modern Mass Culture. He is coauthor (with Santiago Sebastián) of O Brave New People: The European Invention of the American Indian.