ainting Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2) by Marcel Duchamp is more thought-provoking and artistically relevant than Dorothea Tanning’s painting Birthday. These pieces were painted in different time periods, when different styles of art were common, but when the viewer considers the aesthetic qualities of the piece, the historical value and the ease of which one can draw an interpretation of the piece Duchamp’s is more thought-provoking.
Though both pictures have compelling titles that contrast with the contents of the actual painting, Duchamp’s contrast more directly challenges what the viewer is thinking and is easier to draw an interpretation from. “Nude Descending Staircase (No. 2)” is a misleading title, but the viewer could interpret …show more content…
It’s important to note that these pieces were the first notable works produced by each artist and both went on to develop their style of art and gain a positive reputation in the artistic community, so these paintings can be compared on relatively equal footing. Nude was painted in “1912,” when Duchamp was no more than “an obscure Frenchman” (Keats). Nude was very controversial in its time, and has stood the test of time in challenging people’s perceptions of art. When the piece was first put on display, it was hated by many art critics, and was even called “the focal point of outrage” at its first exhibition (Keats). Though this painting is “typical of Cubist paintings of the time,” people still disliked the piece for its chaotic nature which was unexpected from the style and subject matter. Since the piece gained a lot of notoriety at the time of its exhibition, it is an artistically significant work (Philadelphia Art Museum). Birthday, though a beautiful and well-produced painting, wasn’t particularly groundbreaking at the time it was produced and displayed. Surrealism was fairly well-established and popular at the time she made this piece: she made the painting in “1942,” and surrealism “originated in the late 1910’s and early ‘20s” (Metropolitan Museum of Art). The piece was at the start of her career and provided a foundation for her to move into more work that slowly established her as a well-respected
Though both pictures have compelling titles that contrast with the contents of the actual painting, Duchamp’s contrast more directly challenges what the viewer is thinking and is easier to draw an interpretation from. “Nude Descending Staircase (No. 2)” is a misleading title, but the viewer could interpret …show more content…
It’s important to note that these pieces were the first notable works produced by each artist and both went on to develop their style of art and gain a positive reputation in the artistic community, so these paintings can be compared on relatively equal footing. Nude was painted in “1912,” when Duchamp was no more than “an obscure Frenchman” (Keats). Nude was very controversial in its time, and has stood the test of time in challenging people’s perceptions of art. When the piece was first put on display, it was hated by many art critics, and was even called “the focal point of outrage” at its first exhibition (Keats). Though this painting is “typical of Cubist paintings of the time,” people still disliked the piece for its chaotic nature which was unexpected from the style and subject matter. Since the piece gained a lot of notoriety at the time of its exhibition, it is an artistically significant work (Philadelphia Art Museum). Birthday, though a beautiful and well-produced painting, wasn’t particularly groundbreaking at the time it was produced and displayed. Surrealism was fairly well-established and popular at the time she made this piece: she made the painting in “1942,” and surrealism “originated in the late 1910’s and early ‘20s” (Metropolitan Museum of Art). The piece was at the start of her career and provided a foundation for her to move into more work that slowly established her as a well-respected