It was in 1919 that Duchamp appended a mustache to the Mona Lisa, the lady celebrated for her mysterious smile. With this witty defacement, he liberated art from the solemn worship of art. He probably smiled as he drew the smiling mustache, for Duchamp himself was developing a smile almost as influential as the Mona Lisa’s. It was brilliantly captured by Irving Penn in a photograph from 1948 that portrays the Dada master trapped in the corner of a room, but smiling wryly: Nothing, one feels, could pierce the magisterial irony and knowing superiority of his expression. As artists study this show, they should think about Duchamp in his corner and observe what a cozy couple Dada and MoMA now make. They should recognize that Duchamp’s problem was the Mona Lisa’s smile. Their problem is Duchamp’s smile.

Dada
Museum of Modern Art. Through September 11.

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• Archive: “Art Reviews”
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