Van Gogh Museum Shows Works by Marcel Duchamp's 'Unknown' Brother'

Written by Hugh Kindleman Monday, 23 May 2011 21:11

AMSTERDAM.- In its annual presentation in the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum is showing a selection of works by Marcel Duchamp’s ‘unknown’ brother Gaston Duchamp, who went by the pseudonym of Jacques Villon. Jacques Villon was a painter and graphic artist whose legacy includes almost 700 prints in addition to paintings. From 1950 onward his work earned international acclaim and his prints became popular collector’s items. The presentation features a range of graphic techniques that Jacques Villon used, such as etching, aquatint, drypoint engraving and lithography.

Unique style
After his training in Montmartre, Villon succumbed to the influence of artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen. Between 1922 and 1930 Jacques Villon produced prints inspired by drawings and paintings by contemporary artists such as Kees van Dongen, Pierre Bonnard and Vincent van Gogh for Parisian art dealer Bernheim Jeune.

But as Villon’s work developed, it ultimately revealed a unique style that is seldom entirely abstract despite being strongly abstracting.

Private collection
The presentation is built around the private collection of Mr and Mrs Van der Vossen – Delbrück, which the couple bequeathed to the Rijksmuseum’s Print Room.

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