The artwork “With My Tongue in My Cheek” by Marcel Duchamp is a self-portrait created in 1959. This pencil on paper artwork, housed at the Georges Pompidou Center in Paris, France, measures 24.8 x 15 cm. Duchamp’s work here is associated with the Surrealism art movement.
The artwork presents a stark and hasty rendition of a human profile. The drawing captures a side view that provides a sense of three-dimensionality and depth, achieved through shading and contouring. Texture is evidenced by the numerous small dots and stippling effects across the depicted facial features, which show attention to detail, lending a tactile roughness to the surface. The face is dominant in the composition, while another faint sketch of a nose and eye appears toward the right, suggesting either a dual perspective or an overlay of thoughts or identities. This aligns with the Surrealist motivation to explore the unconscious and present imagery beyond ordinary perception. There is an informal and spontaneous aesthetic to the work, as demonstrated by the visible paper perforations at the top and the presence of the handwritten title and artist’s signature at the bottom, which conveys a sense of personal connection and directness between the artist and the viewer. The hand-written elements add a note of intimacy and authenticity, cementing Duchamp’s playful engagement with the viewer through the literal and figurative reference in the title, which might allude to an attitude of irreverence or jest.
