Nevers in Paris (Nevers à Paris) 1904

Jacques Villon created "Nevers in Paris" using etching and aquatint, can you imagine the scratching and the acid baths that brought it into being? The color palette is all tans, sepias, and hazy, dreamy browns. I love the way the figures seem to emerge and recede into the background, like memories. Villon is playing with Cubist ideas here, breaking down forms and then putting them back together again. He’s almost saying that seeing is not just a passive activity, but an active process of construction. It reminds me of Picasso, but also Degas, with their shared interest in modern life. You can almost feel the pulse of Paris in this piece, the energy, the excitement. Artists like Villon have shown us that painting is never just about representation; it’s a way of thinking, of feeling, of being in the world. What a thought!