This model is one of the collection Prêt à Faire: Printable Readymade Models
The infamous Fountain by Marcel Duchamp, signed by him under the pseudonym R. Mutt in 1917. According to some art historical accounts, this has been deemed the most important work of art produced in the 20th century. The scandal created by this lost artwork, as well as the various editions produced in the decades afterward, is the stuff of legend.
Find out more about this scandal:
The original work can only be seen in a famous photograph by Alfred Stieglitz, although we can see other editions in various odd exhibition situations. In addition to these sources, to assist the modeling effort I used source material found at:
 Fountain by R. Mutt, 1917, Alfred Stieglitz, Published in The Blind Man (No. 2), Edited by Marcel Duchamp, Henri-Pierre Roché, and Beatrice Wood, May 1917 |  Duchamp’s studio at 33 West 67th Street, New York, 1917-18, Henri-Pierre Roché |  Marcel Duchamp, Fountain, by William A Camfield, 1989, pp. 92-3 |
Wanting to print this, I searched for 3D models online but was completely dissatisfied with the ones I found. So I made this one, basing it primarily on the Milan edition copies produced in the 1960s (a decision which eventually led me down the rabbit hole of modeling the entire Readymade collection!). In the catalog Duchamp Fountain by William A. Camfield, written for an exhibition in the 1980s, I found a set of the original working drawings approved by Duchamp for this edition. Interestingly, images of the edition seemed to follow these approved drawings quite loosely, so I combined this source with observation of the 1964 edition at the Pompidou Center, which carefully documents the work from all sides via photography.
Various historical editions include:
 Philadelphia, |  Stockholm, |  1964 edition, found in locations worldwide |
Fountain has been famously appropriated or commented upon by legions of artists. Just a few of these artists who have incorporated it into their practice include:
 Sherrie Levine, Fountain (Buddha), 1996 |  Mike Bidlo, Fractured Fountain (Not Duchamp Fountain 1917), 2015 |  Ray Beldner, Peelavie, 2003 |
There are two resolutions for the model to print. They are modeled at full size and must be scaled in the slicer. I also have a copy of the R. Mutt signature, which can be merged with the urinal to create a multi-color print.
Recommended materials:
Prusament Pearl White PLA has a nice sheen that emulates porcelain
Prusament Jet Black PLA for the signature
My settings:
Print Settings: 0.20mm Structural
Filament: Prusament PLA
Printer: Prusa XL (for a 75% scale model)
Supports: Everywhere
Infill: 10% (for 75% scale model)
Brim: None
Advanced settings:
Layers and perimeters: Extra perimeters on
Infill: Gyroid fill pattern, Aligned Rectangular top and bottom fill pattern
Support material: Organic style, use paint-on supports to control
Stats for a 75% size print:
Total material used: ~845 grams white, ~15 grams black
Total time: ~1 day, 10 hours
This is a risky print for the Prusa XL. The usual safeguards apply: dry your filament like you mean it, clean and degrease the build plate, and control the environment.
Stats for a 50-ish% size print (48.6% is the largest that can fit on an MK3/4):
Total material used: ~326 grams white, ~10 grams black
Total time: ~14 hours
This is a less risky (but scale-wise perhaps less satisfying!) print, but still needs care.
No assembly is required for this print.
21 DEC: Added images of a 75% scale print, set as cover.
9 DEC: Included images of nominal 50% scale print and a 3MF file with 50% and 75% pre-formatted for your convenience.
3 DEC: Re-wrote the description for clarity and consistent formatting across the Prêt à Faire collection.
9 NOV: I added a file for placing the signature letters in relief for multi-color printing. Since this can be tricky in the slicer, I've also included a 3MF file including letters merged with the body of the urinal. This merge also contains a manipulated cylinder to smooth out a rough patch that emerges when printing at large scale (here, 75% size of original). Though this file is set for the XL, it can be scaled and manipulated for a smaller multi-material printer.
31 JUL: Duchamp obviously “created” a full-size sculpture out of a urinal, but in his work Box in a Valise in the late 1930s he included a tiny version of Fountain, about 3.5 inches tall. I decided to print one at that size. Unlike the larger tests I ran, which were good quality, I noticed the wall thickness became so thin for this size that I got a lot of surface warping, especially near the “top” as you can see here:
So back to the drawing board. I created a special thicker-walled version for small prints:
So if you want to print small, find the “small-print” version of the file!
The author marked this model as their own original creation.
