Impossible: The Love Affair between Marcel Duchamp and Maria Martins, and the Artwork It Inspired

by Francis M. Naumann

Overview

The true story of a secret romance that changed the course of modern art—told in full for the first time

“Tell me who your enemies are, so that I can help you to hate them.” This was a favorite line of the Brazilian sculptor Maria Martins (1894–1973), and likely how she greeted Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968) at their first meeting, at the opening of an exhibition of her work in 1943.

The clandestine love affair that burned between these two artists for the remainder of the decade was fueled not only by romantic passion but also by a deep appreciation of each other’s work. Some of the greatest of Martins’s Surrealist sculptures were inspired by her relationship with Duchamp—including Impossible, whose title perhaps refers to their situation. (Martins was married to the Brazilian ambassador to the United States.) And it was during their affair that Duchamp—widely believed to have “retired” from art—secretly began his astonishing final work, which would be revealed only after his death. This work, the sculptural tableau Étant donnés, was heavily influenced by Martins: it takes formal cues from her work, and it was she who modeled for the startlingly realistic nude at its center.

This surprising story—highly readable yet meticulously researched, and abundantly illustrated with artworks and archival images—will affirm the importance of Maria Martins’s tropically inflected Surrealism and challenge the perception of Duchamp as a purely cool and cerebral artist.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780789215291
Publisher:	Abbeville Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/03/2026
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Francis M. Naumann is an art historian, curator, and former art dealer, specializing in Dada and Surrealism and, in particular, the work of Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray. He is the author of numerous books and exhibition catalogs, including New York Dada 1915–23 and Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Making Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Naumann was the first to write about the importance of Duchamp and Martins’s love affair, more than thirty years ago.

Editorial Reviews

"It’s fun to read and a real contribution to the ever-widening literature on Duchamp. Naumann makes its central characters—Marcel and Maria—both come alive on the page."— Calvin Tomkins, staff writer for the New Yorker and author of Duchamp: A Biography

"Beautifully written and informed by meticulous research, this book provides a fascinating account of one of modern art’s greatest love stories. Francis M. Naumann has given us an instant classic: a must-read for anyone interested in human creativity and its inspirations.

"— Michael R. Taylor, Chief Curator and Deputy Director, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

"Fascinating! Naumann offers new insights into the relationship between Marcel Duchamp and Maria Martins, a romance that resulted in the creation of entirely new works by each artist. He shows how a passionate woman from the tropics influenced the heart and mind of one of the greatest intellects of modern times. Naumann’s writing is so fresh and immediate that it creates a sensation of the reader being there, a voyeur witnessing one of the most fertile, yet impossible erotic encounters to have taken place between two artists in the history of twentieth-century art.

"— Graça Ramos, PhD, Brazilian journalist and author of "Maria Martins: Escultora dos Tropicos"

From the Publisher