Marcel Broodthaers 17

This painting emerges from the composition of three carefully selected images. The first is inspired by the central photographic portrait of Robert Filliou wearing his «Galerie légitime»—a folded paper hat—in «Autoportrait bien fait, mal fait, pas fait» (1973). The second shows Marcel Broodthaers posing with a fake nose in front of the rear door of a truck marked «La Continentale Menkés,» a Belgian art transportation company, captured during the filming of his experimental film «Voyage à Waterloo» (1969). The third element integrates four commas from Broodthaers’s «Cinéma Modèle» (1970), where punctuation marks acquire a plastic and conceptual dimension. Originally rendered in black and white, the composition has been reimagined in color, imbuing the image with renewed vitality.

Davis Lisboa offers a reflection on art history’s narrative of artists creating their own museums, as seen in Duchamp’s «Boîte-en-valise» (1936–1941), Filliou’s «La galerie légitime» (1962–1963), and Broodthaers’s «Musée d’Art Moderne, Département des Aigles» (1968–1972). «Davis Museum Barcelona» (2009) continues this tradition as a ready-made sculpture, digital archive, small-format contemporary art collection, and non-profit project recognized by the Generalitat de Catalunya. Created within a ballot box and shared via social media, it subverts museological norms, questioning notions of authorship and exhibition.

This painting is part of «The Paintings Section From Davis Museum Barcelona,» the museum’s sole sales section, organized into chromatic periods: black and white, blue, and full color. Created using top-quality materials—linen canvas, Old Holland oil paints, and Talens mediums and varnish—the square format reflects the museum’s cubic structure.