Marcel Broodthaers 10

This painting draws inspiration from a black-and-white photograph of Marcel Broodthaers taken by his wife, Maria Gilissen, during the filming of «Un Voyage à Waterloo (Napoléon 1769–1969)». In the image, Broodthaers wears a fake plastic nose and a sardonic smile, standing before an art transport truck from the company “La Continentale Menkes.” This performative gesture encapsulates his critique of institutional frameworks and their symbolic authority.

The work engages a lineage of artists who founded their own museums as poetic-political acts: Duchamp’s «Boîte-en-valise» (1936–41), Filliou’s «La galerie légitime» (1962–63), and Broodthaers’s «Musée d’Art Moderne, Département des Aigles» (1968–72). In dialogue with this tradition, the «Davis Museum Barcelona» (2009–present) emerges as a readymade sculpture, a nonprofit collective project, and an institution officially recognized by the Generalitat de Catalunya.

Founded symbolically in a ballot box and circulated via social media, the «Davis Museum» is considered the smallest contemporary art museum in the world. “The Paintings Section From Davis Museum Barcelona” features portraits and still lifes—homages to Duchamp, Filliou, Broodthaers, and their institutional inventions.

Executed in oil on linen canvas using Old Holland paints and Blockx mediums, the square format references the museum’s cubic form. The dominant blue unifies the series and echoes the project’s identity.

This piece is part of the museum’s only section open to collectors. Acquiring it through Saatchi Art supports an internationally recognized initiative that reimagines the museum as an artwork.