Fifth Bucolic: Pastoral 1955

Jacques Villon made this print, Fifth Bucolic: Pastoral, with crayon and ink, and you can really sense the playful way he works with those materials. It’s all about the lines, how they dance and intersect, creating a pastoral dreamscape. The texture here is pretty cool; it's like he's scratching into the surface, almost fighting with it. Look at the figures in the foreground. See how they seem to blend into the landscape? It's like we are seeing these figures in a dream. The colours are light, almost transparent, creating a hazy, dreamlike atmosphere. You can see the grain of the paper showing through in parts of the picture. I’m reminded of Matisse, especially his later cut-outs. There’s a similar sense of joy and experimentation, a willingness to embrace imperfection and let the materials speak for themselves. Ultimately, Villon’s work reminds us that art is an ongoing conversation, a playful exploration of ideas and forms that transcends time.