SuperRare

Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2, 1912

A stylistic mixture of Cubism and Futurism, Duchamp’s depiction of the titular subject in multiple exposure evokes a movement through time as well as space, and was inspired by the photographic motion studies of Eadweard Muybridge and Étienne-Jules Marey. The figure's planar construction drew the most ire, making the painting a lighting rod for ridicule. Nude was one of a handful of paintings Duchamp made before turning full time towards the conceptualist experiments (such as the Readymades and The Large Glass) for which he’s known.