Marcel Broodthaers 26
Inspired by a 1969 photograph of Marcel Broodthaers taken during the filming of Un Voyage à Waterloo (Napoléon 1769–1969), this painting transforms an iconic moment of conceptual art into an atmospheric and psychologically charged composition. Floating pipes, scattered symbols, and fragmented visual elements create a dialogue between memory, institutional critique, and contemporary figurative painting. The work belongs to The Paintings Section of Davis Museum Barcelona, a conceptual museum project exploring the museum itself as an artistic medium.
Original · Signed · Certificate
€1,750
Product Details
Davis Lisboa, Marcel Broodthaers 26, 2025. Oil on linen, 80 × 80 × 3.5 cm (31.5 × 31.5 × 1.38 in).
This painting is based on a photograph of Marcel Broodthaers taken by Maria Gilissen in July 1969 during the filming of the experimental movie Un Voyage à Waterloo (Napoléon 1769–1969). In the original image, Broodthaers appears wearing a fake nose in front of the rear door of an art transport truck belonging to the company La Continentale Menkès, constructing a deliberately theatrical and sarcastic scene. Here, the image is reinterpreted through a more atmospheric painterly language, incorporating floating pipes alongside scattered numbers and letters that reinforce the ambiguous and almost surreal character of the composition.
Rather than functioning as a literal portrait, the work transforms the historical photograph into a space where conceptual references, memory, and visual fiction intersect. The suspended symbols surrounding the figure evoke systems of classification, language, and coded forms of communication, while the restrained palette and soft transitions of light introduce a psychological tension marked by strangeness and instability.
The painting belongs to The Paintings Section of Davis Museum Barcelona, the pictorial section of a conceptual museum project founded in 2009. Conceived as a hybrid structure between museum, digital archive, and collective artwork, and officially recognized as a cultural entity by the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Davis Museum continues a narrative lineage of artists who developed their own museums as artistic mediums, including Boîte-en-valise by Marcel Duchamp, Galerie Légitime by Robert Filliou, and Musée d’Art Moderne, Département des Aigles by Marcel Broodthaers.
Executed in oil on linen, the work belongs to the artist’s Full Color Period, characterized by an increased chromatic intensity. The square format subtly alludes to the cubic geometry of the Davis Museum, reinforcing the balance between historical reference and contemporary figurative reinterpretation.
Additional information
| Weight | 5.2 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 80 × 80 × 3.5 cm |
