Jacques Villon (Gaston Duchamp, known as) (1875-1963) Monsieur D. [Duchamp] reading. 1913. Drypoint. 293 x 390. Ginestet et Pouillon 284. Very fine proof on laid paper, numbered and signed in pencil. Oxidation of the folio. Light foxing. Short handling creases including a few fine broken creases. Full margins. Edition of 32 proofs. This subject is one of the plates engraved in 1911-1914, through which Villon explored Cubism. "In the portrait of his father, Monsieur D. lisant, [...] the artist will succeed, thanks to the skilful combination of straight lines and accentuated angles, in giving a will to the general expression, removing the anecdotal side of a direct drawing. Although his subjects are still drawn from reality, Villon moves increasingly towards geometric abstraction through a scientifically grounded interpretation of space. In addition to the reasoned articulation of surfaces and planes so evident in his 1913 works, Villon was to add to his visual constructions a very important rhythmic dimension, absent from the research of the Cubists, but not without evoking a rapprochement with the art of the Italian Futurists." (D. Martin, Jacques Villon, La Donation Charles S. N. Parent Donation, Musée du Québec, 1992, p. 41).