2016.16.1
L’ Opposition et Les Cases Conjuguées Sont Reconcilées - Opposition and Sister Squares Are Reconciled
Artists
Marcel Duchamp
(1887 - 1968);
Marcel Duchamp and Vitaly Halberstadt
Title
L’ Opposition et Les Cases Conjuguées Sont Reconcilées - Opposition and Sister Squares Are Reconciled
Creation Date
1932
Century
early 20th century
Dimensions
12 x 10 x 1 in. (30 x 25 x 3 cm)
Object Type
book
Creation Place
North America, United States
Medium and Support
Limited Edition Book. Hard bound; printed on Montgolfier Annonay rag paper
Credit Line
Museum Purchase, Lloyd O. and Marjorie Strong Coulter Fund
Copyright
This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s
Copyright Terms and Conditions.
Accession Number
2016.16.1
Known today primarily for his introduction of conceptual art through Readymade works, such as Fountain (an overturned urinal renamed and, thus, reconceived), Marcel Duchamp was also an elite chess player, who, among other accomplishments, represented France in the Chess Olympiads between 1925 and 1933. In 1932, Duchamp became France’s delegate to the Féderation international des échecs; the same year, he co-authored the treatise, Opposition and Sister Squares Are Reconciled, with the chess master Vitaly Halberstadt. One of thirty deluxe hardcopies, the volume is dedicated to the pathbreaking gallerist Julien Levy. The publication not only analyzes an intriguing, if rare, chess challenge, but also represents an example of the conceptual art with which Duchamp would change the path of modern and contemporary art. Of special note is Duchamp’s visual analysis of the game, particularly his introduction of overlays which reflect his interest in the phenomenon of hinged or kinetic objects that hinted at the existence of multiple spatial dimensions.
Object Description
Limited Edition Book. Hard bound; printed on Montgolfier Annonay rag paper, in quarto format with 246 numbered red and black game position illustrations, 8 of which are on glassine overlays. 112 bi-paginated pages (left and right facing pages bear the same page number). With intact cover “title wrap strips” designed by Duchamp. Published by L’Editions l’Echiquier, Paris and Brussels, 1932, with complete texts in French, English and German
