The words forming this work’s title are inscribed (in the original French) on a strip of metal glued across the approximate center of the composition—seemingly inviting viewers to look through the lens haloed by concentric circles and mounted between two panes of glass. Peering through the convex lens “for almost an hour” is supposed to have a hallucinatory effect, as the view is dwarfed, flipped, and otherwise distorted. Duchamp delighted in the fact that the glass shattered while being transported, welcoming the mechanics of chance into the work.
Gallery label from 2019