L.H.O.O.Q.is an iconic work by Marcel Duchamp created in 1919, an integral part of the Dada movement. It is a reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous Mona Lisa, to which Duchamp added a moustache and goatee in pencil, turning the masterpiece into a provocative and ironic gesture. The title, pronounced in French, sounds like a vulgar phrase that plays with language and the meaning of the image. The work challenges artistic conventions, calling into question the aura of traditional art, the authority of the museum and the veneration of the great masters.
L.H.O.O.Q. is a manifesto of creative freedom, in which irony and conceptual play become tools for subverting the rules of art. This work marks a turning point in Duchamp’s career, anticipating conceptual art and the use of the readymade, and demonstrating how a simple gesture can have a revolutionary impact on the way art is understood.
Unique quality material
Print on handmade Amalfi paper Sheet size: 29 x 42 cm (11.4 x 16.5 in) With frame: 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in) Material: artwork printed on very fine handmade Amalfi paper with deckled edges Frame: light brown beech wood and wood pulp, handmade
How an Amalfi art print is made, what the frame is like, what museum glass is, how long shipping takes, and how returns work: we’ve gathered all the answers on a single page.
