On April 9th, 1917, a urinal was delivered as an art work to the First Annual Exhibition of the Independents in New York. The item received the title Fountain. It was signed R. Mutt, which turned out to be a pseudonym. About twenty years later, the authorship of this work was attributed to Marcel Duchamp. But over time, his authorship got questioned; the Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven was cited as possible author. Essentially binary discussions followed, to which this book opposes a systematic approach in seven theses. Far from claiming to provide answers, it gathers elements that could potentially lead to a broader research plan. Le 9 avril 1917, un urinoir fut livr en tant qu'oeuvre d'art la Premi re Exposition Annuelle des Ind pendants New York. L'envoi re ut le titre Fontaine. Il portait la signature R. Mutt qui s'av rait tre un pseudonyme. Une vingtaine d'ann es plus tard, la paternit de cette oeuvre fut attribu e Marcel Duchamp. Mais au fil du temps, sa qualit d'auteur fut mise en doute; la baronne Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven fut cit e comme possible auteure. Des discussions essentiellement binaires suivirent auxquelles ce livre oppose une approche syst matique en sept th ses. Loin de pr tendre donner des r ponses, il rassemble des l ments qui pourraient conduire un plan de recherche plus tendu.