The Philosopher (Le Philosophe)

Although this work, The Philosopher, developed out of an initial interest in the human form, Jacques Villon gave it a title that evokes the metaphysical realm of the intellect or the incorporeal. The monumentalized figure, swathed in a robe or towel and appearing to hold a newspaper or perhaps a drawing pad, echoes elements from earlier self-portraits and portraits of Villon’s brother, the artist Marcel Duchamp, and may have been based on one of these works.