Maurice Utrillo

French, 1883-1955

Maurice Utrillo, initially Maurice Valadon, was born in Paris, December 26, 1883, the illegitimate son of the artist Suzanne Valadon. She, who had become a model after a fall from a trapeze, ended her chosen career as a circus acrobat, found that posing for Berthe Morisot, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and others provided her with an opportunity to study their techniques; in some cases, she had also become their mistress. She taught herself to paint, and when Toulouse-Lautrec introduced her to Edgar Degas, he became her mentor. Eventually she became a peer of the artists she had posed for. Meanwhile, Valedon's mother was left in charge of raising the young Utrillo, who soon showed a troubling inclination toward truancy and alcoholism. When a mental illness took hold of the twenty-one year old Utrillo in 1904, he was encouraged to paint by his mother. Under her tutelage, he began painting the streets of his childhood neighborhood, Montmartre. Working in the tradition of the conventional veduta, he depicted streets, buildings, fountains, and avenues, which he captured at different seasons of the year in a style influenced by the lyrical realism of Camille Pissarro and Albert Sisley. However, by deploying a subtle palette - mainly yellows, turquoise, maroon and zinc white - he suffused the scenes with atmospheric* qualities that evoke feelings either of familiarity or of alienation in the viewer. Known as his 'White Period' (période blanche), the years between 1909 and 1914 represent the acme of Utrillo's creativity. During this time, he reduced his palette to white, shading into grays. He also mixed his paints with sand, plaster, and lime to render the physical substance of his subject matter, walls in particular. In 1910, art critics F. Jourdan and E. Faure discovered the artist. Their appreciation of his talent enabled Utrillo to take part for the first time in the 1912 Salon d'Automne*. Until 1914, Utrillo traveled in Brittany and Corsica; his works assumed an increasingly luminous* quality, which greatly enriched his earlier ascetic conception of reality. In 1924, he exhibited with his mother at the Galerie Bernheim-Jeune in Paris and was offered a contract for a year. However, that same year he also attempted to commit suicide, which was probably the result of years of alcohol abuse. A powerful natural talent, Utrillo made an enormous contribution in consolidating painterly structure and texture. He was also important as a draughtsman*. In 1926, he designed stage scenery and costumes for Djaghilev's Ballets Russes. He received public recognition in 1928, when he was made a member of the Legion of Honour. Starting where Impressionism* left off, Utrillo became the best-known portrayer of Paris, especially Montmartre, painting both from nature and from postcards. His poetic interpretations of the streets and squares of Montmartre contributed substantially to popularizing a romantic image of that quarter. However, when he painted people, they were always represented as solitary beings, lost in social isolation.

Creator: Maurice Utrillo

Original Vintage French Railway Travel Poster Paris Montmartre Utrillo SNCF

$1,227

Original Vintage French Railway Travel Poster Paris Montmartre Utrillo SNCF

By Maurice Utrillo

Located in London, GB

Original vintage French railway travel poster for Paris Montmartre issued by SNCF Societe Nationale Des Chemins de Fer Francais featuring artwork by Maurice Utrillo (1883-1955) showing a scenic view of people walking on a cobbled street with a restaurant on one side and blanchisserie / laundrette on the other, leading to the historic white domed Basilica du Sacre Cœur de Montmartre...

Category

1950s French Vintage Maurice Utrillo

Materials

Paper

1970 Provence - SNCF Original Vintage Poster

$831

H 39 in W 25 in D 0.1 in

1970 Provence - SNCF Original Vintage Poster

Located in Winchester, GB

Charming poster from 1970 for the French railway SNCF promoting their routes to Provence in south eastern France. Featuring gorgeous artwork of a sunny scene out of an open window,...

Category

1970s French Vintage Maurice Utrillo

Materials

Linen, Paper

'Air France Paris' Original Vintage Travel Poster by Bernard Villemot, 1967

$5,182

H 39.38 in W 24.38 in D 0.01 in

'Air France Paris' Original Vintage Travel Poster by Bernard Villemot, 1967

By Bernard Villemot

Located in Devon, GB

Air France commissioned French artist Bernard Villemot to design this dazzling poster to promote tourism to Paris in 1967. Primarily printed in blue and green, the painterly design f...

Category

1960s French Modern Vintage Maurice Utrillo

Materials

Paper

Original Restored Lithograph SNCF French Rail Travel Poster, Languedoc c.1956

$995Sale Price|23% Off

H 41.5 in W 26.5 in D 0.013 in

Original Restored Lithograph SNCF French Rail Travel Poster, Languedoc c.1956

Located in San Francisco, CA

ABOUT Original restored SNCF French lithograph rail travel poster and linen backed. CREATOR Artist: Jean Jules Louis Cavailles (1901 - 1977). Printer: Perceval, Paris. DAT...

Category

Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Maurice Utrillo

Materials

Linen, Paper

1970 Cote d'Azur - SNCF Original Vintage Poster

$1,077

H 39 in W 25 in D 0.1 in

1970 Cote d'Azur - SNCF Original Vintage Poster

Located in Winchester, GB

Charming poster from 1970 for the French railway SNCF promoting their routes to the Cote d'Azur in southern France. Featuring gorgeous artwork of a sunny scene behind a bunch of fl...

Category

1970s French Vintage Maurice Utrillo

Materials

Linen, Paper

NORMANDIE - FRENCH LINE Original Vintage Travel Poster

$20,000

H 39.25 in W 24.3 in D 0.1 in

NORMANDIE - FRENCH LINE Original Vintage Travel Poster

By Adolphe Mouron Cassandre

Located in Chicago, IL

NORMANDIE - FRENCH LINE Authentic original vintage art deco poster Artist: Adolph Mouron Cassandre Condition: B+ Dimensions: 24.3 x 39.25 in. / 61.7 x 99.7 cm. Circa: 1935 Linen Backed There is restored edge and corner wear, tears, creasing, and small losses; there is a .75" diameter area of restored loss about one inch below the "W" of "NEW YORK;" some restored surface cracks in the upper right quarter of the poster in the blue sky area; restored loss upper right corner; very well restored 2" vertical tear at the top edge in between the left edge and the ship's stack; "PRINTED IN FRANCE" ink stamp in the bottom margin on the right side; this extremely rare and stunning art deco ocean liner poster...

Category

1930s Vintage Maurice Utrillo

Materials

Paper

Roger Soubie, Original Vintage Travel Poster, Le Haut Barr Vosges, Railway, 1925

$2,918

H 41.34 in W 29.53 in D 0.04 in

Roger Soubie, Original Vintage Travel Poster, Le Haut Barr Vosges, Railway, 1925

Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR

Original Vintage Poster-Roger Subie-Le Haut Barr-Vosges-Railway, c.1925 Poster of the Railways of Alsace and Lorraine to promote tourism in the Haut-Barr, around Saverne (Bas-Rhin)....

Category

20th Century French Art Deco Maurice Utrillo

Materials

Paper

Chaumont c1928 French Railway Travel Advertising Poster, Contant Duval

$2,216

H 40.88 in W 28.88 in D 0.1 in

Chaumont c1928 French Railway Travel Advertising Poster, Contant Duval

Located in Bath, Somerset

Original Chaumont c1928 French Railway Travel Advertising Poster by Contant Duval. The French painter and poster artist best known for his vibrant Art ...

Category

20th Century French Maurice Utrillo

Materials

Linen, Paper

1974 SNCF - Rail & Auto - Villemot Original Vintage Poster

$2,100

H 40 in W 24.4 in D 0.1 in

1974 SNCF - Rail & Auto - Villemot Original Vintage Poster

By Bernard Villemot

Located in Winchester, GB

This gorgeous & rare poster for SNCF was designed by the iconic poster and graphic designer Bernard Villemot. Best known for his collaborations with the likes of Bally, Air France an...

Category

1970s French Vintage Maurice Utrillo

Materials

Linen, Paper

AIR FRANCE - PARIS Original Vintage Midcentury Modern Airline Travel Poster

Sold|~~$1,600~~

H 39.2 in W 24.6 in D 0.1 in

AIR FRANCE - PARIS Original Vintage Midcentury Modern Airline Travel Poster

By Pierre Baudouin

Located in Chicago, IL

PARIS - AIR FRANCE - THE WORLD'S LARGEST AIRLINE Authentic original vintage airline travel poster Artist: Pierre Baudouin Condition: A Dimensions: 24.6 x 39.2 in. / 62.5 x 99.5 cm. C...

Category

1960s Vintage Maurice Utrillo

Materials

Paper

Brenet, Original Travel Poster, French Railway, Train Travel Transportation 1958

$1,059

H 39.38 in W 24.61 in D 0.04 in

Brenet, Original Travel Poster, French Railway, Train Travel Transportation 1958

By Albert Brenet

Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR

This poster from the French Railways was produced in 1958 by Albert Brenet to promote rail tourism in France. Artist : Albert Brenet (1903 - 2005) Title : Societe Nationale des Chem...

Category

20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Maurice Utrillo

Materials

Paper

1960 Paignton - British Railways Original Vintage Poster

$1,923

H 40 in W 25 in D 0.1 in

1960 Paignton - British Railways Original Vintage Poster

By Tom Eckersley 1

Located in Winchester, GB

This wonderfully playful poster was created in 1960 for British Railways, promoting their routes to Paignton in Devon, England. Reading "Torbay's Ideal Holiday Centre, South Devon", ...

Category

1960s British Vintage Maurice Utrillo

Materials

Paper

Cote Basque 1952 SNCF French Railway Travel Poster. Jean Garcia

$2,127

H 39 in W 24.25 in D 0.1 in

Cote Basque 1952 SNCF French Railway Travel Poster. Jean Garcia

Located in Bath, Somerset

Beautiful original Cote Basque French Travel poster from 1952 designed by Jean Garcia. Created for French railways SNCF this poster was part of the post war effort to stimulate touri...

Category

20th Century French Maurice Utrillo

Materials

Linen, Paper

Previously Available Items

Maurice Utrillo Becon-les-Bruyeres 28/50 Print, French Artist

Sold

H 16.25 in W 12.5 in D 0.5 in

Maurice Utrillo Becon-les-Bruyeres 28/50 Print, French Artist

By Maurice Utrillo

Located in Toledo, OH

French artist Maurice Utrillo signed and numbered print, street scene 28/50, 1883-1955. Frame has wear. Image size is 5.88" W x 8.44" H, Matte s...

Category

20th Century French Art Deco Maurice Utrillo

Materials

Paper

Maurice Utrillo lithograph Rue St Vincent, France, 1927

Sold

H 12.6 in W 9.85 in D 0.4 in

Maurice Utrillo lithograph Rue St Vincent, France, 1927

By Maurice Utrillo

Located in Paris, FR

Maurice Utrillo lithograph Rue St Vincent, Montmartre, Paris, France. With the printed signature (as issued). Maurice Utrillo, (born Dece...

Category

Early 20th Century French Maurice Utrillo

Maurice Utrillo original lithograph "Le Moulin De La Galette, Montmartre"

Sold

H 12.6 in W 9.65 in D 0.4 in

Maurice Utrillo original lithograph "Le Moulin De La Galette, Montmartre"

By Maurice Utrillo

Located in Paris, FR

Maurice Utrillo original lithograph, Le Moulin de la Galette, Montmartre, France, 1922, with the printed signature (as issued). Maurice Utril...

Category

Early 20th Century French Maurice Utrillo

Maurice Utrillo furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Maurice Utrillo furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of paper and are designed with extraordinary care. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Denis Paul Noyer, Jean-Michel Folon, and Jean Dubuffet. Prices for Maurice Utrillo furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $637 and can go as high as $637, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $637.

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Questions About Maurice Utrillo

What medium did Maurice Utrillo use?
1 Answer
1stDibs ExpertFebruary 21, 2024
The medium that Maurice Utrillo used was painting. He worked primarily in oil paint and produced more than 1,000 works. Many of his pieces depicted the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris. Utrillo is best known for adding zinc and plaster to his pieces to give them an aged effect, a technique he started using in 1904. On 1stDibs, find a variety of Maurice Utrillo art.
Where are Maurice Utrillo paintings located?
1 Answer
1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
Maurice Utrillo’s paintings are located at different institutions around the world, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Utrillo was a French artist who attracted international acclaim during the first half of the 20th century. On 1stDibs, shop a collection of authentic Maurice Utrillo paintings from some of the world’s top art dealers.