The brothers Jacques Villon (1875-1963) and Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) were both
influential artists and leaders in their own right of the modern art movement at the
turn of the 19th and into the early 20th century and the Armory Show certainly
further elevated them to the revered status they hold today.
Villon, the oldest of the four artist siblings (Duchamp, Raymond Villon-Duchamp and
Suzanne Duchamp), learned engraving from his grandfather at age 16 and began his
career as a Belle Epoque illustrator. Achieving success as an illustrator, he started to
create fine art prints and, as he gained prominence in Paris, began expanding his
profile. He was an organizer of the first Salon d’Automne in 1903, which included
artists like Matisse, Gleizes, Bonnard and Vuillard, as well as a posthumous showing
in homage to Gauguin.
In 1906, Villon abandoned commercial illustration completely and relocated to the
Parisian suburb of Puteaux with his brother Raymond in order to further develop his
printmaking and painting style. By 1910, his drawing became more expressive,
signalling his break from commercial illustration and, in 1911, both he and Duchamp
participated in the famous Salon d’Automne that incited the “Cubist Scandal” and
introduced Cubism to France. They also exhibited in the 1911 Salon des Indépendants
(founded by Redon, Signac and Seurat) along with Gleizes, Metzinger, Le Fauconnier,
R. Delaunay, Léger, Laurencin, Kupka, Picabia, de La Fresnay, Lhote, Csaky and
Archipenko. Many of these artists began to meet with frequency at Villon and
Duchamp-Villon’s studio in Puteaux, forming the Puteaux Group. In 1912, they
exhibited together as the Section d’Or (or Gold Section), a name based on the
mathematic theories of Leonardo da Vinci.
Marcel Duchamp, Jacques Villon, Raymond Duchamp-Villon, and Villon’s dog Pipe in the garden of
Villon’s studio in Puteaux, France, ca. 1913 / unidentified photographer.
Walt Kuhn, Kuhn family papers, and Armory Show records, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
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