Fountain (Duchamp)

Fountain is a readymade sculpture by Marcel Duchamp, submitted for the exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists in 1917. It consists of a standard urinal, signed "R. Mutt" and dated 1917.

The piece is arguably Duchamp's most famous and controversial work, and is widely regarded as a major landmark in 20th-century art. Its rejection by the Society (despite their claim to accept all submissions) sparked considerable debate about the definition of art and the role of the artist.

Duchamp argued that by choosing the object and giving it a title, he had transformed it into a work of art. He claimed that Fountain was chosen for its aesthetic neutrality and challenged the notion that art had to be crafted or possess inherent beauty. The gesture, in its provocative simplicity, questioned the established art world's conventions and opened up new possibilities for artistic expression.

The original Fountain was photographed by Alfred Stieglitz and the image published in the journal The Blind Man. The original was subsequently lost. Several authorized replicas were later created under Duchamp's supervision in the 1960s and are now held in various museum collections. The artwork continues to be a subject of critical discussion and interpretation, remaining a significant and influential piece in the history of conceptual art.