Galerie Dreyfus
81
-
MAURICE UTRILLO (PARIS, 1883 – DAX, 1955)
The Place du Tertr…
See original version (French)
81
-
MAURICE UTRILLO (PARIS, 1883 – DAX, 1955)
The Place du Tertr…
See original version (French)
Estimate €110,000 - €138,000
Voluntary lot
Description
MAURICE UTRILLO
(PARIS, 1883 – DAX, 1955)
The Place du Tertre in Montmartre
c. 1920 – 1922
Oil on canvas
46 x 61 cm.
Signed lower right ‘Maurice. Utrillo, V.’
Wildenstein Committee certificate
Provenance
Kurt Sponagel – Hirzel, Zurich, 1955,
Private collection, Switzerland,
Sotheby’s auction, London, 25 March 1992, lot 62
Acquired at the above auction by the current owner.
Publication
P. Courthion, *Montmartre*, Lausanne, 1956, pp. 118 & 142 (illustrated on p. 118, dated ‘1920’)
P. Pétridès, The Complete Works of Maurice Utrillo, vol. II, Paris, 1962, no. 901, p. 320 (illustrated on p.
321 with incorrect dimensions).
Exhibition
Basel, Kunsthalle, Maurice Utrillo. Graphische Blätter von Corot und Daumier, June–July
1942, no. 205.
Vevey, Musée Jenisch, Maurice Utrillo, Valadon, Modigliani, Utter, July–September 1955,
No. 50, p. 24 (with incorrect dimensions);
Munich, Haus der Kunst, Maurice Utrillo V., Suzanne Valadon, June–September 1960, no. 77,
p. 12 (illustrated in plate 39);
Bern, Kunstmuseum, Utrillo, January–March 1963, no. 69;
Tokyo, Seiji Togo Memorial Sompo Japan Museum of Art, Maurice Utrillo, April–June 2010,
no. 23, p. 55 (illustrated); this exhibition travelled to Niigata, The Niigata Prefectural Museum of
Modern Art, July–August 2010; Kyoto, Museum Eki Kyoto, September–October 2010; and
Aichi, Toyohashi City Museum of Art & History, October–December 2010.
It is from its south-western corner – when one emerges onto the square from the steps on
Rue du Calvaire – that Maurice Utrillo chose to depict Montmartre’s most famous square. Instantly recognisable by its square shape, with its cluster of trees at the centre,
it displays its café façades with their colourful walls and sea-green shutters. Admittedly, it is not
yet the square cluttered with the easels of Poulbots’ painters and other amateur
portraitists, but the whole atmosphere of this square is present, its layout having hardly
changed. Beneath the canopy of trees, the light is filtered through the foliage, casting
patches of light onto the ground. Passers-by, often in couples, cast their
clumsy silhouettes, characteristic of Utrillo’s naïve style. The dark green foliage of the trees
marks a clear divide between the ethereal blue sky overhead and this square with its
low-rise buildings clustered below. The long tree trunks supporting this
canopy of foliage help to create the effect of a vast hall where people pass one another and exchange greetings, sheltered
from the sun. Utrillo’s entire style is evident here, with his focus on constructing space through
neatly aligned architectural forms, his palette of vivid yet harmonious colours, and, finally, his
distinctive graphic style that outlines the silhouettes and emphasises the details of each building.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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