Jacques Villon was born near Rouen in 1875. His family was extraordinarily endowed with artistic talent: his grandfather and first teacher being a skilled engraver; one of his brothers becoming the sculptor Duchamp-Villon and another the painter, Marcel Duchamp. In 1895, Villon left Normandy for Montmartre. There he continued etching but his earnings for work in this medium and an occasional painting were a scarcely sufficient income.