Maurice Utrillo was a great painter of cityscapes. Utrillo was born in France in the year 1883. His birth name was Maurice Valadon. His favourite city to paint was Paris. The background of his family is quite interesting. His mother was a teenager at the time of his birth. She was a model for several well known French painters such as Renoir, Berthe Morisot, and Toulouse Loutrec.
His mother’s name was Marie- Clementine Valadon. She was a trapeze artist who had a bad fall and gave up this career. She started to pose as a model for many well to do Parisian painters including Berth Morisot and Toulouse- Loutrec. She had her son Maurice without being sure about the father. Marie Valadon was not only able to learn differet techniques and was a great amateur level painter, she also became a mistress to many of the artists for whom she posed, as a result she was never completely sure about her son’s father. Eventually a Spanish painter named Miguel Utrillo y Molins signed the paternity papers.
The artist started having mental problems at the age of twenty one. Rather than be violent his mother encouraged him to paint! He enjoyed working in a plein air fashion capturing remarkable views of the city Monmarte, Paris.
You may have seen his cityscapes on postcards from France, they are very popular in fact worldwide.
Below is a clip showing some cityscapes done Utrillo.
I compare the artist most with Guy Carleton Wiggins. Guy Carelton Wiggins is my favourite painter of snow and the city. He uses a wonderful palette of greys for his snow. His snow also has remarkable movement across the picture plane in his works, many times his scenes depict heavy snowfall and blizzard like conditions. Both artists also paint similar buildings and windows. Below is fantastic example of Guy Carleton Wiggin’s style. Just looking at this wonderful painting gives me the chills!
Below another montage of the artist’s work.
Price range information: I was unable to locate a consistent pricing schedule. Many reports I looked at said Utrillo is among the most forged artist in the world. Artists copy both his originals and his prints. If you would like to purchase a work make sure that is certified by more than one art appraiser.When the artist was into his forties, he had international recognition as a fantastic painter.
When Utrillo turned 52 years old he married a woman named Lucie Valor. The couple settled down in Paris. Utrillo enjoyed drinking heavily. He passed away in 1955 aged 71 in Paris.
The artist didn’t attend an art school and was self taught.
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