The Art of Maurice Utrillo (131 works)

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Utrillo Maurice (French Maurice Utrillo), French post-impressionist painter. Born in Paris on December 25, 1883. He began painting in 1903 under the guidance of his mother, artist Suzanne Valadon. He usually signed his works "Maurice Utrillo V." (V. is the first letter of the mother’s last name).
Maurice did not receive a systematic art education, some principles were suggested to him by his mother, and some he picked up from artists who worked in Montmartre. As a result, he began to paint city landscapes, which appealed to the common public, but for a long time remained unrecognized among art historians and critics. In Utrillo's manner one can find features of post-impressionism and primitivism. Until 1906, the artist signed his works as Maurice Valadon, then adopted his stepfather's surname. Maurice Utrillo had problems with alcohol. Stays in hospitals are interspersed with exhibitions and creative work.

In Utrillo's paintings the subject is interpreted traditionally, without the distortions and transformations characteristic of modern painting, and at the same time the artist manages to achieve a very personal intonation and poetic expressiveness. In his early works the palette is quite dark, gloomy and heavy; later (in 1912-1915) it noticeably brightens. In the second half of the 1910s, the artist increasingly turned to architectural landscapes. Utrillo's painting style is broad and soft, the brush stroke is open and expressive, and the color scheme helps convey a lyrical mood. Particularly famous are his views of the streets and houses of Paris.

Critics began to appreciate Utrillo's work only in the 1910s. Since the mid-20s, Utrillo has become one of the most fashionable and “expensive” French artists. In 1929, the French government awarded him the Order of the Legion of Honor.
The artist died on November 5, 1955 in Dax, Landes department.