Maurice Utrillo (Born 1883) was born in Paris, France. He died in 1955 at Le Vésinet. He was a painter who was noted for his paintings depicting the streets and houses of the Montmartre district of Paris. Utrillo was born out of wedlock – he was the son of the artist and model Valadon Suzanne. His father is unknown, and the artist was given his name by Miguel Utrillo, a Spanish art critic. He had no training as an artist apart from that his mother gave him – his mother herself was also untutored. At adolescence, he became an alcoholic, and so his mother persuaded him to take up art/painting as therapy. Regardless of his frequent setbacks caused by alcoholism, painting became his obsession. Withdrawn and shy, the artist painted very few portraits that usually portrayed the deteriorating streets and houses of Montmartre, its cafés and places of amusement, and its old windmills.
He often used picture postcards as sources. He was also inspired by his trips to Corsica and Brittany. The artist has produced the majority of his paintings while residing in Paris, France. those who have purchased his art agree that they provide value for money. That’s why many collectors stock them in large numbers. Utrillo’s art are easily recognizable because of the way he used color and texture to produce them. His most highly esteemed work is that which he produced between 1909 and 1914 (“white period”) so called because he used zinc white so lavishly and he sometimes mixed it with plaster.
