Marcel Broodthaers

Chez votre fournisseur (Le Vinaigre des Aigles) (At your supplier [Vinegar of Eagles])

1968

Painted vacuum-formed plastic plate

Not on view

Between 1968 and 1972 Broodthaers made a series of vacuum-formed plastic reliefs, each of which was industrially fabricated, painted by commercial craftsmen, and realized in two versions (with opposing color palettes). The artist called them "Industrial Poems," alluding to their manufacture as well as their play with language. Broodthaers used plastic, he said, to "free [himself] from the past," wittily adding, "These plaques are fabricated like waffles, you know"—a nod to his Belgian heritage. The reliefs relate to Museum of Modern Art, Department of Eagles, the artist's fictional museum, of which he was director. Fascinated by its ubiquity as a symbol of strength and power throughout history, Broodthaers used the eagle (a central motif in his work) as an advertising icon for a brand of vinegar, complete with the tagline Chez votre fournisseur (From your supplier), further blurring the line between artistic and commercial production.

Gallery label from

New to the Print Collection: Matisse to Bourgeois, June 13, 2012–January 7, 2013.

Medium Painted vacuum-formed plastic plate
Dimensions overall: 32 3/16 x 47 1/16 x 1 9/16" (81.8 x 119.5 x 4 cm)
Publisher Marcel Broodthaers
Fabricator Unidentified, Brussels
Edition 7
Credit Partial gift of the Daled Collection and partial purchase through the generosity of Maja Oeri and Hans Bodenmann, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, Agnes Gund, Marlene Hess and James D. Zirin, Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis, and Jerry I. Speyer and Katherine G. Farley
Object number 653.2011
Department Drawings and Prints

Explore more

Marcel Broodthaers

Marcel Broodthaers

Belgian, 1924–1976 95 works online

Over the course of 12 extraordinary years, Marcel Broodthaers developed a distinctive body of work characterized by irreverence, wit, introspection, and skepticism.

Learn more →
All works by Marcel Broodthaers →

From MoMA Design Store

Installation views

We have identified this work in the following photos from our exhibition history.

How we identified these works
In 2018–19, MoMA collaborated with Google Arts & Culture Lab on a project using machine learning to identify artworks in installation photos. That project has concluded, and works are now being identified by MoMA staff.

If you notice an error, please contact us at [email protected].
Licensing
To reproduce installation views, please contact Art Resource (publication in North America) or Scala Archives (publication in all other geographic locations). You will need to include the object identification number found in the caption.
Feedback
This record is a work in progress. If you have additional information or spotted an error, please send feedback to [email protected].

Licensing

Artwork or archival images

If you would like to reproduce an image of a work of art in MoMA's collection, or an image of a MoMA publication or archival material (including installation views, checklists, and press releases), please contact Art Resource (publication in North America) or Scala Archives (publication in all other geographic locations).

Audio and film clips

MoMA licenses archival audio and select out of copyright film clips from our film collection. At this time, MoMA produced video cannot be licensed by MoMA/Scala. All requests to license archival audio or out of copyright film clips should be addressed to Scala Archives at [email protected]. Motion picture film stills cannot be licensed by MoMA/Scala. For access to motion picture film stills for research purposes, please contact the Film Study Center at [email protected]. For more information about film loans and our Circulating Film and Video Library, please visit Circulating Film and Video Library.

Text from a publication or the archives

If you would like to reproduce text from a MoMA publication, please email [email protected]. If you would like to publish text from MoMA's archival materials, please fill out this permission form and send to [email protected].

Feedback

This record is a work in progress. If you have additional information or spotted an error, please fill out this feedback form.