The artwork titled “Given: 1. The Waterfall, 2. The Illuminating Gas,” created by Marcel Duchamp between 1945 and 1966, belongs to the realms of Conceptual Art and Surrealism. This installation piece is housed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, PA, USA.
The artwork presents a complex tableau viewed through a set of old wooden doors. The scene reveals the fragmented nude figure of a woman lying in a bed of twigs and branches, holding up an ignited gas lamp. This enigmatic composition includes a lush and serene landscape in the background, contrasting with the striking and somewhat disturbing foreground. Duchamp’s piece engages the viewer in a deep interplay of mystery, voyeurism, and surreal imagery, encapsulating both conceptual and surrealist elements through meticulous arrangement and evocative symbolism.
