Maurice Utrillo

Josse & Gaston Bernheim-Jeune, Paris (acquired directly from the artist)
Henri Canonne, Paris (acquired from the above circa March 1925)
Private Collection, France (by descent from the above)
Private Collection
Private Collection, France (sale: Christie’s, New York, 3rd November 2004, lot 56)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Arsène Alexandre, La Collection Canonne: Une histoire en action de l’impressionnisme et des suites, Paris, 1930, illustrated pp. 104-5
Paul Pétrides, L’Œuvre complet de Maurice Utrillo, Paris, 1962, vol. II, no. 1009, illustrated p. 393

The canvas is not lined. There is a discoloured varnish layer preventing UV light from fully penetrating, however examination under UV reveals no signs of retouching. There are fine lines of stable craquelure in places, most prominently to the white façade of the house in the lower right quadrant. There is a faint intermittent stretcher bar line along the upper edge and some minor frame abrasion along the extreme edges. There are some light accretions visible in places to the sky and the path, possibly pertaining to the varnish. There are three fine surface scratches: along the lower edge towards the lower left corner (approximately 3cm. long), to the sky in the upper left quadrant (approximately 7cm. long) and another to the sky left of the central windmill (approximately 7cm. long). There are a few isolated spots of paint loss in places to the green grass in the lower right corner as well as one further small loss to the sky above the tall tree close to the right edge. The paint surface is richly textured and the pigments are bright. This work is in overall good condition and would benefit from a clean.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Impressive in both scope and scale, Les anciens moulins de Montmartre et la ferme Debray is one of the most significant works executed by Maurice Utrillo. The subject of the three windmills atop the hill of Montmartre was of abiding interest and paramount importance to Utrillo, and the artist returned to the motif throughout his creative life, depicting this particular view at different times of day and throughout the changing seasons. Utrillo utilised vintage postcards on occasion as the source for his paintings, imbuing his scenes of Paris with an almost timeless quality. Indeed, the present work was titled as Les moulins de Montmartre avant la naissance du peintre in Arsène Alexandre’s 1930 publication devoted to the Canonne Collection, which lends credence to the theory that a postcard recording this scene as it was in the early 1880s served as the source image in this instance.

Les anciens moulins de Montmartre et la ferme Debray boasts a distinguished provenance, having originally been in the collection of Josse and Gaston Bernheim-Jeune of the celebrated gallery owning family, before passing into the collection of Henri Canonne. Canonne was the inventor of the Valda tablet, a form of throat sweet which is still in production today. The Valda tablet proved so successful that Canonne was able to build up an impressive collection of Impressionist artworks, reputedly owning forty works by Monet and ten Renoirs at one stage, as well as three other Utrillo paintings.