Le Cheval Majeur (The Large Horse)

modeled 1914, cast 1966

Raymond Duchamp-Villon French, 1876-1918

On View

College for Creative Studies, Josephine F. Ford Sculpture Garden Wing

Le Cheval Majeur (The Large Horse): 1 of Collection Gallery

Le Cheval Majeur (The Large Horse): 2 of Collection Gallery

Le Cheval Majeur (The Large Horse): 3 of Collection Gallery

Le Cheval Majeur (The Large Horse): 4 of Collection Gallery

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About the Artwork

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

Writing in 1913 to his friend the American art historian Walter Pach, Raymond Duchamp-Villon declared, "The power of the machine imposes itself upon us and we can scarcely conceive living bodies without it." Clearly the artist had this idea in mind as he began to reinterpret traditional equestrian portraits, a symbol of power, for the modern era. Duchamp-Villon’s steed is not robustly muscular but composed of pistons, gears, shafts, and wheels that dynamically flow from one part to the next. The artist completed only a clay model for this sculpture during his lifetime. His brothers Jacques Villon and Marcel Duchamp later supervised casting the sculpture in bronze (1930–31). It was not until 1966 that Marcel Duchamp scaled the sculpture to one and a half times the size of the original. The result, Le Cheval Majeur, is a study of energy and dynamic equilibrium. From Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 89 (2015)

Title Le Cheval Majeur (The Large Horse)

Artwork Date modeled 1914, cast 1966

Artist Raymond Duchamp-Villon

Life Dates 1876-1918

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. French

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Bronze

Dimensions Overall: 59 × 58 1/2 × 31 1/2 inches, 1100 pounds (149.9 × 148.6 × 80 cm, 499 kg)

Classification Sculpture

Department European Modern Art to 1970

Credit Gift of A. Alfred Taubman

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 2006.153

Markings

Inscriptions ------

Provenance

Mme. Marcel Duchamp (Paris, France). (Galerie Beyeler, Basel, Switzerland). by 1988, private collection (Europe). September 8-October 27, 2006, sold by (Sotheby's Chatsworth House sale, Derbyshire, England) lot 6

2006, purchased by A. Alfred Taubman [1924-2015] (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA)

2006–present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts by A. Alfred Taubman (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

Beyond Limits. Sales cat., Sotheby’s, Chatsworth, September 8, 2006–October 27, 2006, pp. 44–49 (ill.).

Wilkinson, MaryAnn. "June Feature" your DIA: A Magazine for Members (June 2007): front cover (ill.); p. 3 (ill.).

"Museum Acquisition 2007: A Selection" Apollo 166, no. 549 (December 2007): pp. 67–74, p. 72 (ill.).

Bulletin of the DIA: Notable Acquisitions, 2000–2015 89, no. 1/4 (2015), p. 44–45 (ill.).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Le Cheval Majeur (The Large Horse), modeled 1914, cast 1966, bronze. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of A. Alfred Taubman, 2006.153.