<P> L.H.O.O.Q. ( French pronunciation : ​ ( ɛl aʃ oo ky ) ) is a work of art by Marcel Duchamp . First conceived in 1919 , the work is one of what Duchamp referred to as readymades , or more specifically a rectified ready - made . The readymade involves taking mundane , often utilitarian objects not generally considered to be art and transforming them , by adding to them , changing them , or ( as in the case of his most famous work Fountain ) simply renaming them and placing them in a gallery setting . In L.H.O.O.Q. the objet trouvé ( `` found object '' ) is a cheap postcard reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci 's Mona Lisa onto which Duchamp drew a moustache and beard in pencil and appended the title . </P>
<P> L.H.O.O.Q. ( French pronunciation : ​ ( ɛl aʃ oo ky ) ) is a work of art by Marcel Duchamp . First conceived in 1919 , the work is one of what Duchamp referred to as readymades , or more specifically a rectified ready - made . The readymade involves taking mundane , often utilitarian objects not generally considered to be art and transforming them , by adding to them , changing them , or ( as in the case of his most famous work Fountain ) simply renaming them and placing them in a gallery setting . In L.H.O.O.Q. the objet trouvé ( `` found object '' ) is a cheap postcard reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci 's Mona Lisa onto which Duchamp drew a moustache and beard in pencil and appended the title . </P>
who painted a mustache on the mona lisa
who painted a mustache on the mona lisa
Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp