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Broken and Restored Multiplication

A work made of oil and silver paper on canvas.
© 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

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  • A work made of oil and silver paper on canvas.

Date:

1918–19

Artist:

Suzanne Duchamp
French, 1889–1963

About this artwork

Like many Dada works, those by Suzanne Duchamp weave painting, collage, and language together in complex ways. Broken and Restored Multiplication is filled with visual and verbal metaphors of disorder and breakage: at the center, a schematic Eiffel Tower is turned upside down; just below it, a modern cityscape is reflected in its mirror image. The phrases that run up and down along the surface of the picture further the idea of order upended: “The mirror would shatter, the scaffolding would totter, the balloons would fly away, the stars would dim, etc.” Such images and words seemed fitting for the artists who embraced Dada, a cultural movement that emerged in response to World War I.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Modern Art

Artist

Suzanne Duchamp

Title

Broken and Restored Multiplication

Place

France (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1918–1919

Medium

Oil and silver paper on canvas

Inscriptions

Signed, titled, and dated, l.r.: "Brisée/Multiplication et/Rétablie/Suzanne Duchamp 1918-19"

Dimensions

61 × 50 cm (24 × 19 11/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mary P. Hines in memory of her mother, Frances W. Pick; through prior acquisitions of Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson, H. J. Willing, and Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester

Reference Number

1994.552

Copyright

© 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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