(b Damville, Eure, 5 Nov 1876; d Cannes, 7 Oct 1918). French sculptor and draughtsman. The second son of a Normandy notary, he played a central role in the development of modern aesthetics, as did his elder brother JACQUES VILLON and his younger brother MARCEL DUCHAMP. He came from an educated family and was an assiduous student at secondary school in Rouen; in 1894 he registered at the Faculté de Médecine in Paris, where he attended classes for several years. Rheumatic fever forced him to break off his studies in 1898 just before completion and left him immobilized for a considerable length of time; this unforeseen event altered the whole course of his life. During this period of enforced leisure (1899–1900), he modelled small statuettes (of subjects such as familiar animals and female figures), discovering his true vocation as a sculptor. He was essentially self-taught and rapidly attained a high level of mastery and maturity. He settled in Paris c. 1901 and changed his name to Duchamp-Villon at his father’s insistence. As early as 1902 he exhibited a portrait of his future wife (whom he married in 1903) in the Société Nationale, and he exhibited works regularly at the Salon d’Automne from its foundation in 1903. In 1905 he held his first private exhibition with Jacques Villon in the Galerie Legrip, Rouen.

• Duchamp-Villon, (Pierre-Maurice-)Raymond
  • Duchamp, Marcel, §1(i): Early artistic experiments, to January 1912
  • Villon, Jacques
  • collaboration
    • France, §II, 5(i): Architecture, after c 1914: Purism, Cubism and the Modern Movement
    • France, §V, 6: Interior decoration, after c 1890
    • Léger, Fernand, §1(ii): Life and work, 1910–17
  • groups and movements
    • Cubism, §I, 1: Origins and application of the term
    • Gleizes, Albert
    • La Fresnaye, Roger de
    • Marinot, Maurice
    • Orphism
    • Puteaux group
    • Section d’Or (ii)
  • patrons and collectors
    • Quinn, John
  • works
    • France, §IV, 6(i): Sculpture, c 1900–c 1945