1st item: Jacques Villon (French, 1875-1963) aquatint etching after a painting by Pablo Picasso (Spain/France, 1881-1973) titled "Mother and Child," originally painted in 1901, Chalcographie de Louvre edition. Depicts a seated woman in a blue robe, kissing the forehead of a child in a white night shirt. Signed "Picasso" center left in the plate. Chalcographie de Louvre blindstamp, lower center below plate. Housed and matted under plexiglass in a gilt wood frame. Plate: 25 3/4" H x 16 3/4" W. Sight: 29 1/2" H x 20" W. Framed: 37 1/2" H x 29 3/4" W. 2nd item: Jacques de Villon (French, 1875-1963) aquatint etching after a painting by Amedeo Modigliani (French, 1884-1920) titled "L'Itallienne" or "Gypsy Woman with Baby," originally painted in 1919, Chalcographie de Louvre edition. Depicts a seated woman with short, dark hair holding a baby wrapped in a navy blue blanket. Labeled "Modigliani Pinxt," "Chalcographie de Louvre," and "Jacques Villon Sct," lower left, center, and right in the plate, below image. Watkins Institute of Art Collection, Belmont University, Nashville, TN labels, en verso. Housed and matted under plexiglass in a wooden frame. Plate: 19 1/2" H x 12 1/8" W. Sight: 21" H x 13 1/2" W. Framed: 31" H x 22 1/2" W. Note: In 1920, the artist Jacques de Villon was commissioned by the Galerie Bernheim-Jeune to create aquatint etchings based on the canvases of several important painters including Matisse, Modigliani, Picasso, and even Villon himself, "for the purpose of promoting Impressionism and supporting contemporary creation… No photomechanical processes were used in this project and the resulting prints are miracles of the engraver's art." (Orozco, p. 16). Villon employed a painstaking and time-consuming 18th-century color etching method using three and sometimes four plates to complete the final proof, in an effort to create a final print as true as possible to the original painting. After the original run of about 200 prints (plus several artist proofs) for the Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, these plates were acquired by the Chalcographie du Louvre, which reissued an unknown number of the Villon prints in the mid-20th century, prior to Villon's death. For an excellent explanation of Villon's process as well as a detailed catalog of his prints, refer to Miguel Orozco, "The Prints of Jacques Villon," Vol. 1.

CONDITION: Both overall good condition with light toning to paper. Not examined outside of frame. Commensurate with age and use.