Maurice Utrillo

Galerie Pétridès, Paris
Collection particulière (acquis en 1948 auprès du précédent puis par descendance)
Vente : Christie's, Londres, 28 juin 1994, lot 324
Acquis lors de cette vente par le propriétaire actuel

Tokyo, Seiji Togo Memorial Sompo Japan museum of Art; Niigata, The Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art; Kyoto, Kyoto Museum et Aichi, Toyohashi City Museum of Art & History, Maurice Utrillo, 2010, no. 83, reproduit dans le catalogue p. 128

The canvas is not lined. It is very slightly undulating at the lower left corner. There is varnish which appears to have slightly yellowing, notably along the left edge and at the lower right quadrant. There is no evidence of retouching under UV light. This work is in very good condition.
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signed 'Maurice, Utrillo, V,' (lower right) and titled '- Montmartre, -' (lower left), oil on canvas. Painted circa 1948.

Maurice Utrillo connaissait le quartier de Montmartre à Paris depuis son enfance, puisque sa mère Suzanne Valadon y avait un atelier, qu’il partagea plus tard au 12 de la rue Cortot. Au début de la première guerre mondial, Utrillo habitait Montmartre, logé par le propriétaire d’un petit restaurant appelé Le casse-croûte.  Il voyait la rue du Mont Cenis depuis la fenêtre de sa chambre et peignit plusieurs vues de cet endroit. Il reprit par la suite cette composition tout au long de sa vie, avec de multiples variations dépendant des saisons et du temps, donnant naissance à certaines de ses plus emblématiques compositions.

La rue du Mont Cenis épouse la pente de la butte Montmartre et domine Paris. Il s’agit ici d’une vue probablement peinte au printemps ainsi qu’en témoignent les arbres aux feuilles naissantes et le ciel d’un bleu lumineux, faisant ressortir les tonalités rouges et brunes de l’immeuble et de la maison du second plan. Celle-ci est la "maison de Berlioz", demeure du compositeur Hector Berlioz de 1834 à 1837.

A propos d'Utrillo, Louis Lormel écrit: "Maurice Utrillo est le peintre de Montmartre. Depuis Lépine, je ne crois pas qu'un artiste a su rendre avec une sensibilité aussi aigu le triste charme de cette petite ville de province, isolée sur le sommet de Paris. Utrillo excelle dans la peinture des murs fissurés des vieilles maisons [...] Maurice Utrillo évoque, par-dessus tout, pour tout parisien sensible, la nostalgie de sa ville natale, son ciel maladif, ses maisons résignées." (cité in Maurice Utrillo, catalogue d'exposition, Pittsburgh, Carnegie Institute of Art, 1963).

Maurice Utrillo knew the Montmartre area of Paris since childhood, as his mother Suzanne Valadon had her studio there, 12 rue Cortot, and that he would eventually share with her. At the beginning of the First World War, Utrillo was lodged in Montmartre, lodged by the owner of a small restaurant named Le casse-croûte. He saw the rue du Mont Cénis from the window of his bedroom and painted several views from this position. He came back to this composition throughout his life, with multiple variations according to season and weather, creating some of his most emblematic motifs.

The rue du Mont Cénis climbs the hill of the butte Montmartre and dominates Paris. This painting probably depicts a view painted in the springtime as shown by the budding leaves on the trees and a luminous blue sky, highlighting the red and brown tonalities of the building and house in the background. This is “Berlioz’s house”, home to the composer Hector Berlioz from 1834 to 1837. 

Louis Lormel wrote about Maurice Utrillo: « Maurice Utrillo was the painter of Montmartre. Since Lépine, I do not think that any other artist has known how to render with such sharp sensitivity the sad charm of this small provincial town, isolated on the summit of Paris. Utrillo excels in painting the cracked walls of old houses [...] Maurice Utrillo evokes, above all, for all sensitive Parisians, the nostalgia of his home town, his sickly sky, his resigned houses.” (quoted in Maurice Utrillo, exhibition, Pittsburgh, Carnegie Institute of Art, 1963).