A sepia-toned portrait by Jacques Villon, 'The Negro' features a seated Black man and white woman, rendered with subtle Cubist fragmentation. This print captures Villon's exploration of form and light.

Jacques Villon, born Gaston Émile Duchamp, was a French Cubist and abstract painter, also known as a printmaker. As the elder brother of artists Marcel Duchamp and Suzanne Duchamp-Crotti, he played a significant role in the development of modern art. Villon initially worked as a caricaturist and illustrator before embracing Cubism around 1911. His mature style combined Cubist fragmentation with a concern for light and atmosphere. 'The Negro' presents a seated Black man in a suit and hat, positioned to the left of a seated white woman in a dress and elaborate hat. The composition is rendered in a monochromatic sepia tone, with the figures emerging from a dark background. Villon's Cubist influence is evident in the geometric simplification of forms and the subtle fracturing of planes, which create a sense of depth and movement within the static composition. The work is a study in contrasts, not only in the subjects, but also in the interplay of light and shadow, and the balance between representation and abstraction.