Description

MAURICE UTRILLO (French, 1883-1955).

Le Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre et la Rue Norvins c.1926-27

gouache and pencil on card

30.5 × 46.7 cm (12 x 18⅜ in.)

signed ‘Maurice Utrillo’ (lower right); titled ‘Sacré-Cœur de Montmatre et rue Norvins’ (lower left)

POA

PROVENANCE

Galerie Paul Pétridès, Paris

William Findlay Inc, Chicago

Frost & Reed Ltd, London (no. D16600S)

Private collection, UK (acquired from the above in 1991)

Thence by descent

LITERATURE

P. Pétridès, L’œuvre complet de Maurice Utrillo, vol. IV, Paris, 1966, p. 192, no. AG 169 bis (illustrated)

NOTES

The late Jean Fabris and the late Gilbert Pétridès have confirmed the authenticity of this work and it is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, issued on 5 February 1991.

Le Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre et la Rue Norvins is an excellent example of one of Utrillo’s most frequent subjects: the buildings and streets of the Parisian neighbourhood of Montmartre, and like with la rue Norvins, they were represented numerous times with only slight variations from work to work. The present example was created during a crucial juncture in Utrillo’s early career, also known as his ‘White Period’.

Although his application to the École des Beaux Arts was rejected in 1909, Utrillo gained initial recognition from both critics and collectors. The dealer Louis Libaude signed a contract with him and promised his mother, the painter Suzanne Valadon, that he would look after her son. Soon thereafter, three of Utrillo’s landscapes were shown at the Salon d’Automne. Utrillo tried to work outdoors (en plein air), but was unnerved by the attention from onlookers, and so he retired to his studio on the rue Cortot in Montmartre, where he worked from memory and his supply of postcards which his mother had given him.

It was during this time that Utrillo realised a personal and unmistakable style in his Maniere blanche (the White Period), named so for the bleached and ashen palette he employed in his views of Paris. Utrillo sometimes even mixed plaster with his white oil colours to mimic the weathered façades of buildings. His muted colour scheme also added a unique sense of nostalgia and melancholy that is entirely personal to his works. As visible in the current work, Utrillo masterfully created a solid and meticulous rendering of perspective, layered with brushstrokes on the buildings, and featured at the centre, the most famed landmark of the 18th arrondissement of Paris – the glorious Basilique du Sacré Coeur de Montmartre.

Despite facing numerous personal and artistic challenges, Utrillo’s legacy endures as one of the most prominent chroniclers of Montmartre’s rich history and artistic heritage. His paintings continue to be admired for their evocative portrayal of a bygone era, capturing the essence of a place that holds a special place in the artist’s life.