Gaby in a Chaise Longue 1906

Jacques Villon made ‘Gaby in a Chaise Longue’ using etching techniques. See how he coaxes warm hues and delicate cool shades from the plate? You can almost hear the scratching and the scraping, the wiping and the biting with acid. Imagine Villon, sleeves rolled up, peering closely, coaxing an image into being. Etching is so physical, so process-led, it almost feels sculptural! The lines aren't just lines, they’re channels, grooves, scars... like memories etched into our minds. I wonder what Villon was thinking as he worked? Was he wrestling with form, trying to nail the perfect pose? Check out the way the girl’s blue dress melts into the honeyed chair, and the way the background figure seems to dissolve into the light. It’s like he’s saying, “Hey, seeing isn’t just about looking, it’s about feeling, remembering, dreaming…” It reminds me of other painter-printmakers like Bonnard, Vuillard, or even Whistler, all wrestling with line and light. We artists, we’re all just talking to each other across time, riffing on the same old themes, trying to figure out what it means to see, to feel, to be.