Fountain
Readymade by Marcel Duchamp (1917/1964). A mass-produced porcelain urinal submitted under the pseudonym 'R. Mutt' to the 1917 Society of Independent Artists exhibition. Rejected from display, the original was lost; Duchamp authorized 17 replicas from 1950–1964. Best-known replica (1964) held at Tate Modern, London.
Panofsky 3-Level Analysis
Visible description — no named figures
A white glazed porcelain urinal (a standard commercial sanitary fixture) placed on its back on a pedestal, as if displayed on a plinth. The object is approximately 36 cm high. On the front face, in black paint: the signature 'R. Mutt 1917'. The surface is smooth, commercially uniform. No additional markings, applied paint, or sculptural transformation other than the signature and the act of repositioning.
Direct material description of the 1964 authorized replica; no interpretive content at this level.
Named figures, narrative program
An industrial commodity — a factory-produced urinal sold for bathroom installation — relocated to an art exhibition context with minimal intervention (a signature and change of orientation). The work belongs to the readymade series Duchamp began c.1913 with Bicycle Wheel and Bottle Rack.
Source: Duchamp's readymade practice; 'The Blind Man' no. 2 (1917), editorial by Louise Norton
Object identity and readymade classification are documented and uncontested.
Cultural & symbolic interpretation
Source: Duchamp's own statements in 'The Blind Man' (1917); subsequent scholarship by Thierry de Duve ('Kant After Duchamp', 1996); T.J. Demos, 'Duchamp's Travels' (2007)
Institutional critique interpretation is canonical across art history scholarship; specifically documented by de Duve and others.