Marcel Broodthaers (Brussels, 1924-1976), a poet before becoming an artist in 1964, was a pioneer of intermedia and site-specific installation art but above all an in-depth theorist who ranged widely over the visual arts in his writings. Broodthaers’ work is widely recognized for its movement and combination of mediums: performance, film, text-based work, etc. Often overlooked, his artworks include genuine research into the nature of language, giving a conceptual continuity to all his practice. The essay that serve as the book’s introduction written by Gloria Moure (editor of this volume) examines the artist’s approach in relation to the linguistic turn in art practices of the 1960s, and its legacy in contemporary art.