Roman Satire, Romantic Irony, Duchamp's Dada: Dialectic in Hegel's Art History

Marcel Duchamp, “Tu m’” (1918)

Oil on canvas, with bottle brush, three safety pins, and one bolt  (69.8 x 303 cm)

Yale University Art Gallery

Our explication of Hegel’s Lectures will first address the dissolution of art through Hegel’s conceptions of Roman satire and Romantic irony. Next Roman satire and Romantic irony will be viewed through Hegel’s conception of the relationships between art and religion, systematically connecting art’s dissolution to the roles of Roman and Christian religion in the development of Spirit. Finally, I’ll argue that we can, via Roman satire and Romantic irony, apply the theme of art’s dissolution to the work of Marcel Duchamp, which enables us to produce a truly Hegelian reading of Contemporary art. This step will involve a critique of the work of Arthur Danto and his interpretation of Duchamp and Warhol. The conclusion will argue that Duchamp’s work represents a synthesis of Roman satire and Romantic irony, thereby constituting yet another occurrence of art’s dissolution. In developing that argument I’ll offer some criticisms of contemporary art and art writing.