Jacques Villon, pseudonym of Gaston Émile Duchamp, (born July 31, 1875,Damville, Normandy, France—died June 9, 1963, Puteaux,near Paris), French painter and printmaker who was involved in the Cubist movement; later he worked in realistic and abstract styles. Villon was the brother of the artists Suzanne Duchamp, Raymond Duchamp-Villon, and Marcel Duchamp. In 1894 he went to Paris to study law, but, once there, he became more interested in art, and he spent the next 12 years contributing illustrations and cartoons to newspapers. In 1903 Villon was one of the founders of the Salon d’Automne, an exhibiting association that was created as an alternative to the traditional Salon. He began to study painting in 1904. In 1906 he moved to the Parisian suburb of Puteaux, where he was able to devote himself primarily to painting. Villon adopted a Neo-Impressionist style in his first paintings. About 1910, however, he began to develop his mature style, in which he combined a Cubist use of flat, geometric shapes with a palette of luminous colors. He and other Cubist-influenced artists (including his two brothers) formed a group called the Section d’Or (“Golden Section”) in 1912; Villon suggested the name to emphasize the group’s interest in geometric proportions. Authentication info on back (as shown).
Dimensions given include frame.