Yvonne and Magdeleine Torn in Tatters, from 1911, is a painting by Marcel Duchamp portraying his young sisters Yvonne and Magdeleine. The work belongs to the artist’s Cubist period, influenced by Picasso and Braque, and shows his experimentation with the breaking down of forms and the multiplication of perspective planes. The faces and bodies of the figures are rendered through fragmented geometric shapes, which lend a sense of movement and depth while maintaining compositional balance.
Duchamp does not aim at photographic realism, but at exploring the perception and representation of space and time through Cubism. The soft colours and decisive lines contribute to an effect of elegance and lightness, underlining the intimacy of the subject: his sisters. This work reveals how Duchamp was already reflecting on the possibilities of art beyond mere representation, anticipating the conceptual experiments of his later works.
Unique quality material
Print on handmade Amalfi paper Sheet size: 30 x 30 cm (11.8 x 11.8 in) With frame: 32 x 32 cm (12.6 x 12.6 in) Material: artwork printed on very fine handmade Amalfi paper with deckled edges Frame: light brown beech wood and wood pulp, handmade
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