The ''Bottle Rack'' (also called ''Bottle Dryer'' or ''Hedgehog'') (''Egouttoir'' or ''Porte-bouteilles'' or ''Hérisson'') is a proto-Dada artwork created in 1914 by

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, ; ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, Futurism and conceptual art. He is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Pica ...

. He labeled the piece a "

readymade A found object (a calque from the French ''objet trouvé''), or found art, is art created from undisguised, but often modified, items or products that are not normally considered materials from which art is made, often because they already have ...

", a term he used to describe his collection of ordinary, manufactured objects not commonly associated with art. The readymades did not have the serious tone of European Dada works, which criticized the violence of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and instead focused on a more nonsensical nature, chosen purely on the basis of a "visual indifference". The

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

purchased one of the replicas of ''Bottle Rack'' in 2018.

Origin

Duchamp claimed to have bought the ''Bottle Rack'' at a department store called Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville near the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

city hall. The ''Bottle Rack'' was a typical, metal rack used for the drying of bottles, but the spiky, aggressive appearance of the piece earned it the name of ''Hedgehog''. Unlike the earlier ''

Bicycle Wheel A bicycle wheel is a wheel, most commonly a wire wheel, designed for a bicycle. A pair is often called a wheelset, especially in the context of ready built "off the shelf" performance-oriented wheels. Bicycle wheels are typically designed ...

'' (1913) or ''Pharmacy'' (1913), the ''Bottle Rack'' was not modified in any way, making it the first, "true" example of a readymade. The ''Bottle Rack'' also had an inscription scribbled on its side, much like the ''R. Mutt'' of Duchamp's ''

Fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

'' (1917) piece, though the actual words remain a mystery as Duchamp had forgotten the inscription by the time it had been thrown out.

Legacy

The original piece was mistaken as rubbish due to its appearance; it was thrown out by Duchamp's sister and stepsister after the artist left France in 1914 for the US. While the original no longer survives, the legacy of the work lives on, with at least seven replicas, held in museums including the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...

, the

Norton Simon Museum The Norton Simon Museum is an art museum located in Pasadena, California. It was previously known as the Pasadena Art Institute and the Pasadena Art Museum and displays numerous sculptures on its grounds. Overview The Norton Simon collections ...

, and the

Moderna Museet Moderna Museet is a state museum for modern and contemporary art located on the island of Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm, opened in 1958. In 2009, the museum opened Moderna Museet Malmö in Malmö. History The museum opened in Stockh ...

. Without any actual modifications by the artist, the ''Bottle Rack'' is Duchamp's first, "true" readymade. While Duchamp asserted that his readymades were done without any specific reason, art critics contend that the piece has sexual undertones of a

Freudian Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies seen as originating from conflicts in t ...

nature. Critics suggest that the metal spikes represent the male genitalia, and that the absence of bottles is a reference to Duchamp being a bachelor at the time, a theme they claim is repeatedly conveyed throughout his works.

Notes and references

{{Marcel Duchamp Destroyed sculptures Works by Marcel Duchamp 1914 sculptures Modernist sculpture Sculptures in the Norton Simon Museum Found object

Origin

Legacy

See also

Notes and references