Prière de toucher (in collaboration with Marcel Duchamp) 1947

This is Enrico Donati’s Prière de toucher, made in collaboration with Marcel Duchamp for the 1947 publication ‘Le Surréalisme en 1947.’ Consider the Surrealist movement in post-war Paris, a hotbed for avant-garde experimentation. Surrealism sought to liberate the unconscious mind, challenging the conservative norms of post-war society. This piece, a daring gesture, literally invites the viewer to touch, blurring the lines between art and life, the visual and the tactile. Duchamp, known for his readymades, elevates the everyday to art, while Donati brings a sculptural element, enhancing the tactile experience. The breast, a symbol of fertility and sensuality, challenges the traditional, often repressed, representations of the female body. Through close examination of Surrealist journals, cultural ephemera, and artists' biographies, we gain insight into how this work challenged the social mores of its time. By understanding the social and institutional contexts, we appreciate the power of art to provoke, question, and redefine our perceptions.