First Book: Three Goats, First Plate (Chevreaux, premiere planche) Possibly 1937

This is 'First Book: Three Goats, First Plate' by Aristide Maillol. It's a print in sanguine - that's a lovely reddish-brown pigment - on laid paper. The artist, Maillol, draws these goats using only a single line for each. So simple, yet so elegant! I can imagine Maillol carefully observing the goats, trying to capture their essence with just a few strokes. The goats are stacked on top of one another, like a little goat totem pole. He doesn't fuss around with details, instead he gives us the bare minimum to convey these animals. He invites us to join in completing the image in our minds. There's a beautiful economy of means here, a real sense of reduction. Maillol was working with this kind of pared-down, essential form a lot at this time. You can see the influence of classical sculpture, and the way he's thinking about the weight and form of the body. We artists are all in conversation, sharing ideas and pushing each other forward!