Maurice Utrillo (1883-1955), Montmartre

Color lithograph on Arches velin paper. Dimensions 68 x 54 cm
Signed on the plate p.d.; l.d. in pencil: HC (hors de commerce)
Counter-signed by Jean Fabris (stamp and handwritten signature on the back)
(Jean Fabris, French art historian and secretary to the painter's widow)
Slight paper folds visible in photos.

Parisians visited Montmartre to enjoy simple entertainments in the then rural part of the city. With a glass of wine, fresh bread, they could relax enjoying their eyes on the magnificent panorama of the city and the Seine spreading from the hill.
Over time, houses and factories sprang up in the vicinity of the mills. The Moulin de Galette attracted more and more people. One of the mills was converted into an observation tower. A dance hall was opened right next to it. The place was a frequent motif of painters' paintings. The Moulin de la Galette inspired such famous artists as Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh, Henri de Tolouse Lautrec, Pablo Picasso, Modigliani, and Marice Utrillo.

Maurice Utrillo, owner of Maurice Valadon (1883-1955) - French painter and printmaker, representative of the École de Paris.
He was the illegitimate son of the artist and model Suzanne Valadon. At the age of 7 he was adopted by Catalan art critic Migueal Utrillo y Molina. Alhokolik since childhood, he was a gypsy wandering between the pubs of Montmartre and sobering chambers and mental hospitals.
He began painting as part of therapy to combat alcoholism at the age of 18. By 1903 he had already painted hundreds of views of the Parisian suburb of Montmagny. His first paintings betray the influence of Camille Pissarr and Alfred Sisley (the so-called Montmagny period). In 1909, his painting was included in the Autumn Salon. At this time, he stopped creating outdoors in an impressionistic manner and began painting from postcards. He concentrated on depicting white buildings with glue, plaster and white paint. His most outstanding paintings were created then. (The so-called white period 1908-14). The next phase of his work is characterized by bright colors and a greater emphasis on line, as well as a new subject: women walking on the street seen with their backs to the viewer (the so-called cloisonné period 1914-20). After 1920, he created paintings that were multicolored but of lesser artistic merit (the so-called cloisonné period).
In 1912 he participated in an exhibition of French art in Munich. In 1913 he had his first solo exhibition. In 1924, due to a progressive alcoholic disease, he was imprisoned and attempted suicide. In 1928 he was awarded the Legion of Honor. In 1935 he married Lucie Valore, a French actress who had previously been friends with his mother.
He was an extremely prolific painter. During World War I alone, he painted 1,200 oil paintings. A posthumous catalog of his works lists more than 3,500 paintings. The main theme of his works became the cityscape (narrow, poor streets, backstreets of Paris, gray walls, small towns, provincial churches). He also painted portraits and still lifes. He was occasionally involved in stage design: in 1926 he made decorations for Sergei Diaghilev's Russian Ballets company, and in 1948 he worked with the Comédie Opera in Paris.
He died of pneumonia.