Jacques Villon

Nu Debout Bras en l'Air Ginestet & Pouillon 245 etching and drypoint, 1909-1910, on medium-weight laid paper with the Arches watermark, a fine impression from the sole edition of 23, suffused with burr, the only known state, with full margins, signed lower right in pencil, and numbered "7/23", some slight overall soiling and soft handling creases, otherwise in very good condition P. 550 x 415 mm.

This pivotal print represents the model Reine (who also worked with Marcel Duchamp), and marks an important stage in Villon's artistic development, working towards a refined simplification and construction of form in the image.  The sketch lower right is a first layout of the model's head and arm.

Ginestet & Pouillon record 23 impressions.  (It is said that Villon printed his plates as they appeared to him, for their "personality", without steel-facing.  They would thus evolve through the printing.  He would only stop printing when he saw fit, often with no real edition size in mind.  His numerotation is thus quite personal, and the first impressions are generally dark and charged with burr, such as this one.)