billiards to attending classes. During this time Duchamp drew and sold cartoons which reflected his ribald humor. Many of the drawings use visual and/or verbal puns. Such play with words and symbols engaged his imagination for the rest of his life.
In 1905 he began his compulsory military service, working for a printer in Rouen. There he learned typography and printing processes skills he would use in his later work.
Due to his eldest brother Jacques’ membership in the prestigious Acadmie royale de peinture et de sculpture Duchamp’s work was exhibited in the 1908 Salon d’Automne. The following year his work was featured in the Salon des Indpendants. Of Duchamp’s pieces in the show, critic Guillaume Apollinaire–who was to become a friendriticized what he called “Duchamp’s very ugly nudes.” Duchamp also became lifelong friends with exuberant artist