Which artwork is a readymade porcelain urinal?

Which artwork is a readymade porcelain urinal?

• A. Fountain
• B. The Swing
• C. The Oath of the Horatii
• D. No. 5, 1948

Answer: (A)

Readymades turn ordinary, manufactured objects into art by the artist’s act of selection and presentation, shifting the focus from handcrafted technique to idea and context. Fountain embodies this by taking a factory-made porcelain urinal, turning it on its side, and presenting it as a sculpture with a signature; the art lies in the choice and framing, not in traditional crafting. That act of recontextualization challenges what we call art and who gets to define it, making this piece the quintessential readymade. The other works are traditional paintings or sculpture—The Swing is an 18th‑century Rococo painting, The Oath of the Horatii is a Neoclassical history painting, and No. 5, 1948 is an Abstract Expressionist drip painting—none of which fit the readymade concept.

Readymades turn ordinary, manufactured objects into art by the artist’s act of selection and presentation, shifting the focus from handcrafted technique to idea and context. Fountain embodies this by taking a factory-made porcelain urinal, turning it on its side, and presenting it as a sculpture with a signature; the art lies in the choice and framing, not in traditional crafting. That act of recontextualization challenges what we call art and who gets to define it, making this piece the quintessential readymade. The other works are traditional paintings or sculpture—The Swing is an 18th‑century Rococo painting, The Oath of the Horatii is a Neoclassical history painting, and No. 5, 1948 is an Abstract Expressionist drip painting—none of which fit the readymade concept.