Skip to Content
Today Open today 10–11 members | 11–5 public

  • Mon 11–5
  • Tue–Wed Closed
  • Thu 11–8
  • Fri–Sun 11–5
  • The first hour of every day, 10–11 a.m., is reserved for member-only viewing.

Gestes et opinions du Docteur Faustroll, pataphysicien

A work made of full brown leather binding with panel on front and back; panel is a black calf-covered die cut with copper background; title stamped in gold on front panel; author stamped in gold on back panel; glassine endpapers; gilt edges; original paper covers bound in.

Image actions

  • A work made of full brown leather binding with panel on front and back; panel is a black calf-covered die cut with copper background; title stamped in gold on front panel; author stamped in gold on back panel; glassine endpapers; gilt edges; original paper covers bound in.

Date:

Published 1923; rebound 1930-1950

Artist:

Mary Reynolds (American, 1891-1950)
Written by Alfred Jarry (French, 1873-1907)

About this artwork

Reynolds created this binding based on Duchamp’s windows, Fresh Widow (1920) and Brawl at Austerlitz (1921). In 1936 Duchamp revisited his windows and had the Brawl printed on paper and celluloid for André Breton’s Au Lavoir noir (Paris: Editions GLM, 1936). It was enclosed loose in each of the seventy copies. Presumably, Reynolds revisited this concept with him with this inspired fenêtre binding as a result.

Duchamp created his windows with opaque panes that could not be seen through: functional objects that did not function, another of his plastic puns. Unlike Fresh Widow, the window panes on this binding are not completely darkened, but dotted with uneven holes, inviting the viewer to look in, but allowing only a glimpse of the contents.

“Pataphysics,” a concept Jarry (1873–1907) introduced in this book, is the study of a realm additional to metaphysics, a science of imaginary solutions. Pataphysics welcomes all scientific explanations for the universe, suspending all values moral, aesthetic, and otherwise. Jarry regarded reality as a cosmic joke.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Ryerson and Burnham Libraries Special Collections

Artist

Mary Reynolds

Title

Gestes et opinions du Docteur Faustroll, pataphysicien

Place

Paris (Object made in)

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.

1923

Medium

Full brown leather binding with panel on front and back; panel is a black calf-covered die cut with copper background; title stamped in gold on front panel; author stamped in gold on back panel; glassine endpapers; gilt edges; original paper covers bound in

Dimensions

14.5 × 10.5 × 1.7 cm (5 3/4 × 4 3/16 × 11/16 in.)

Credit Line

Mary Reynolds Collection, Ryerson & Burnham Libraries

Reference Number

2019.178

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.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.
Learn more

Image actions

Share

Suggested Terms