Fountain is considered one of the most influential artworks of the 20th century - and one of its most controversial.
While Braque had challenged the need to represent clear forms, and De Chirico had challenged the need to represent clear meaning, Duchamp challenged the need to represent something beautiful or even "pleasant" altogether.
Fountain is exactly what it looks like - a porcelain urinal, bought from a shop and signed "R. Mutt".
It has challenged what constitutes art ever since.
For Duchamp, this was about making a statement : while most artists were focused on creating what he called "retinal art" - an art that was aesthetically pleasing - he believed that this didn't have to be the case.
He wanted to draw people away from the actual craftsmanship of the object.
"My idea is to choose an object that doesn't attract me, either by its beauty or by its ugliness", he explained.
Duchamp's art was meant to primarily serve the mind.
The intellectual power of an artwork, he believed, was as impactful - if not more impactful - than its "retinal beauty" : "it's always the idea that comes first, not the visual example".
