Description
Maurice UTRILLO (1883-1955) Street in Bougival, under the snow, circa 1935 Gouache on paper framed. Signed lower right. Size : 31 x 44 cm Provenance : French private collection. The authenticity of our work is established according to the certificate of March 29, 1996 delivered by Jean Fabris, co-author of "Maurice Utrillo. Catalog raisonné de l'oeuvre complet" published in 2009. This authenticity is confirmed following the expertise carried out on October 5, 2022 by the Committee of the Maurice Utrillo Association. Bibliography: Jean FABRIS and Cédric PAILLIER, "L'oeuvre complet de Maurice Utrillo. Catalog raisonné", published by the Maurice Utrillo Association, Paris, 2009. Pau PÉTRIDÈS, "L'oeuvre complet de Maurice Utrillo", Paul Pétridès editions, Paris, 1959. An emblematic figure of the School of Paris, Maurice Utrillo forged his tormented destiny and his brilliant career in Montmartre, in the wake of his mother's stormy life. Indeed, before painting herself, Suzanne Valadon was a model for Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes and Auguste Renoir. In his youth, while posing regularly for his mother, Utrillo met Edgar Degas who taught him graphic and pictorial techniques, encouraged him in his art, and was also his first buyer. Utrillo's fame grew long before he reached the age of 40. A first public auction featuring some of his works was held at the Hôtel Drouot in March 1914, under the title "The Skin of the Bear". By the 1920's, numerous forgeries of his works were already being sold on the art market. Utrillo's great artistic qualities were honored during his lifetime through numerous exhibitions, and by the awarding in 1929 of the Cross of the Legion of Honor. Specialized in the representation of urban landscapes, and in particular of the Montmartre district, the artist's work can be analyzed in four main periods covering the years 1904-1955. Our gouache dating from 1935 belongs to the fourth and last period, known as the colored period, running from 1922 to 1955. Indeed, under a predominance of bright, cheerful and luminous tones, Utrillo represents here a snowy street of the commune of Bougival, animated by five characters from behind and wearing hats. The gouache technique sometimes reveals the support. Located west of Paris, between Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Versailles, Bougival was immortalized in literature by Alphonse Daudet in a satirical short story, "La Pendule de Bougival", published in the newspaper Le Soir on September 5, 1871. The town was also a particular crossroads for modern painters such as Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro, Maurice de Vlaminck, Auguste Renoir and Alfred Sisley who settled there. Our gouache was created at a pivotal time in the artist's personal life. In 1935, braving his mother's strong opposition, Utrillo married, at the age of 51, Lucie Valore, a former actress at the Comédie Française, widow of a Belgian banker, watercolorist and painter. The couple moved to Le Vésinet, less than five kilometers from Bougival.
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Maurice UTRILLO (1883-1955) Street in Bougival, under the snow, circa 1935 Gouache on paper framed. Signed lower right. Size : 31 x 44 cm Provenance : French private collection. The authenticity of our work is established according to the certificate of March 29, 1996 delivered by Jean Fabris, co-author of "Maurice Utrillo. Catalog raisonné de l'oeuvre complet" published in 2009. This authenticity is confirmed following the expertise carried out on October 5, 2022 by the Committee of the Maurice Utrillo Association. Bibliography: Jean FABRIS and Cédric PAILLIER, "L'oeuvre complet de Maurice Utrillo. Catalog raisonné", published by the Maurice Utrillo Association, Paris, 2009. Pau PÉTRIDÈS, "L'oeuvre complet de Maurice Utrillo", Paul Pétridès editions, Paris, 1959. An emblematic figure of the School of Paris, Maurice Utrillo forged his tormented destiny and his brilliant career in Montmartre, in the wake of his mother's stormy life. Indeed, before painting herself, Suzanne Valadon was a model for Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes and Auguste Renoir. In his youth, while posing regularly for his mother, Utrillo met Edgar Degas who taught him graphic and pictorial techniques, encouraged him in his art, and was also his first buyer. Utrillo's fame grew long before he reached the age of 40. A first public auction featuring some of his works was held at the Hôtel Drouot in March 1914, under the title "The Skin of the Bear". By the 1920's, numerous forgeries of his works were already being sold on the art market. Utrillo's great artistic qualities were honored during his lifetime through numerous exhibitions, and by the awarding in 1929 of the Cross of the Legion of Honor. Specialized in the representation of urban landscapes, and in particular of the Montmartre district, the artist's work can be analyzed in four main periods covering the years 1904-1955. Our gouache dating from 1935 belongs to the fourth and last period, known as the colored period, running from 1922 to 1955. Indeed, under a predominance of bright, cheerful and luminous tones, Utrillo represents here a snowy street of the commune of Bougival, animated by five characters from behind and wearing hats. The gouache technique sometimes reveals the support. Located west of Paris, between Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Versailles, Bougival was immortalized in literature by Alphonse Daudet in a satirical short story, "La Pendule de Bougival", published in the newspaper Le Soir on September 5, 1871. The town was also a particular crossroads for modern painters such as Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro, Maurice de Vlaminck, Auguste Renoir and Alfred Sisley who settled there. Our gouache was created at a pivotal time in the artist's personal life. In 1935, braving his mother's strong opposition, Utrillo married, at the age of 51, Lucie Valore, a former actress at the Comédie Française, widow of a Belgian banker, watercolorist and painter. The couple moved to Le Vésinet, less than five kilometers from Bougival.
