The Three Orders: The Castle, The Church, The Land (Primary Title)

Jacques Villon, French, 1875 - 1963 (Artist)

1944
French
oil on canvas
Unframed: 39 3/8 × 28 3/4 in. (100.01 × 73.03 cm)
Framed: 47 1/4 × 37 × 2 5/8 in. (120.02 × 93.98 × 6.67 cm)
85.503
This painting of Beaugency, the French village where Villon lived during the outbreak of World War II, was met with great acclaim when it was first exhibited in Paris just months after the city was liberated. The title refers to the three divisions of pre-Revolutionary French society—the nobility, the clergy, and the commoners. Villon treats his traditional subject in a highly ordered Cubist manner that conveys a stable, calm vision of the French town. Indeed, Beaugency was one of the few towns in the region that escaped the war largely undamaged.
Signed lower left: "Jacques Villon" Inscribed and signed on back: "Les 3 ordres / Le Chateau / L'Eglise / La Campagne / Jacques Villon / 44"
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
©artist or artist’s estate

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