Fourth Bucolic: Pollion 1955

Jacques Villon made this colourful print, Fourth Bucolic: Pollion, using etching and aquatint. The lines feel so spontaneous, like he’s just thinking with the marks, letting the image unfold as he goes. Look at how Villon’s layering color to create depth and form. The planes of blue, yellow, and purple aren’t just decorative; they’re constructing space, pushing and pulling the figures into existence. You can almost see the ghost of Picasso in his work, but Villon is doing his own thing, softening the edges, letting the colors bleed. I keep coming back to the figure on the right, the way the cross hatching on the skirt creates this shimmering effect. The print isn’t trying to be photorealistic; it's about capturing a feeling, an atmosphere. It reminds me of other artists like Francis Picabia, who were similarly invested in this idea of art as a process of discovery. Art isn’t about answers; it’s about the questions.