THE RIJKSMUSEUM TO PRESENTS WORKS BY MARCEL DUCHAMP'S 'UNKNOWN' BROTHER GASTON DUCHAMP

IN ITS ANNUAL PRESENTATION IN THE VAN GOGH MUSEUM, THE RIJKSMUSEUM, AMSTERDAM,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 VILLON USED, SUCH AS ETCHING, AQUATINT, DRYPOINT ENGRAVING AND LITHOGRAPHY. AFTER HIS TRAINING IN MONTMARTRE, VILLON SUCCUMBED TO THE INFLUENCE OF ARTISTS SUCH AS HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC AND THEOPHILE-ALEXANDRE STEINLEN. BETWEEN 1922 AND 1930 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. THE EXHIBITION IS BUILT AROUND THE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF MR AND MRS VAN DER VOSSEN-DELBRUCK, WHICH THE COUPLE BEQUETHED TO THE RIJKSMUSEUM'S PRINT ROOM.