Jacques Villon

Jacques Villon (July 31, 1875 - June 9, 1963) was a French cubist painter and printmaker. Elder brother to Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Marcel Duchamp and Suzanne Duchamp-Crotti, he was born Gaston Emile Duchamp, the reason for his name change was to distinguish himself from his siblings, he adobted Villon as a homage to 15th century medieval french poet François Villon. In 1903 he helped organize the drawing section of the first Salon d'Automne in Paris. In 1904-1905 he studied art at the Académie Julian.

By 1906, Montmartre was a bustling community and Jacques Villon moved to Puteaux in the quiet outskirts of Paris. There, he began to devote more of his time to working in drypoint, an intaglio technique that creates dark, velvety lines that stand out against the white of the paper. During this time he worked closely to develop his technique with other important printmakers such as Manuel Robbe.

His isolation from the vibrant art community in Montmartre, together with his modest nature, ensured that he and his artwork remained obscure for a number of years.

Among Villon's greatest achievements as a printmaker was his creation of a purely graphic language for cubism — an accomplishment that no other printmaker, including his fellow cubists Pablo Picasso or Georges Braque, could claim.

Les Cartes


Le Potin


Portrait of Marcel Duchamp

Comedie de societe

Photograph of Duchamp brothers (l-r Marcel Duchamp, Jacques Villon, and Raymond Duchamp-Villon in the garden of Jacques Villon's studio in Pateaux, France, 1914)