Color lithograph on Arches velin paper. 56 x 38 cm
Signed on the plate: Maurice Utrillo V; l.d. in pencil: 247/275
Signed in pencil by Jean Fabris, attested by his stamp on the back
Edition authenticated with the dry-erase stamp of S.P.A.D.E.M, and the dry-erase stamp of atelier Maurice Utrillo.V
(Jean Fabris, French art historian and secretary to the painter's widow)
In the 19th century, 30 mills were at work on the Montmartre hill, serving a variety of purposes - grinding both grain and pressing grape harvests into wine. Les moulin de Montmartre also milled limestone for gypsum, stones or onions for perfumery. There were more than a dozen of these mills at the top of the rue Lepic. Only the two Blute-fin of 1662 and Radet of 1717-remain today, and these two mills combined into one make up the place called "Moulin de la Galette."
In 1809, the mills were purchased by the Debray family. Galette was a grain roll sold by the owners - usually with a glass of milk added. The roll became so famous that the place where it was made was named after it. In 1830, milk was replaced by wine, mostly, local from Montmartre, and the Moulin de Galette was transformed into a cabaret.
Parisians visited Montmartre to enjoy simple entertainment in what was then a rural part of the city. With a glass of wine, fresh bread, they could relax enjoying their eyes on the magnificent panorama of the city and the Seine River spreading from the hill.
Maurice Utrillo, owned by Maurice Valadon (1883-1955) - French painter and printmaker, representative of the École de Paris.
He was the illegitimate son of the artist and model Suzanne Valadon. At the age of 7 he was adopted by Catalan art critic Migueal Utrillo y Molina. Alhokolik since childhood, he was a gypsy wandering between the pubs of Montmartre and sobering chambers and mental hospitals.
He began painting as part of therapy to combat alcoholism at the age of 18. By 1903 he had already painted hundreds of views of the Parisian suburb of Montmagny. His first paintings betray the influence of Camille Pissarr and Alfred Sisley (the so-called Montmagny period). In 1909, his painting was included in the Autumn Salon. At this time, he stopped creating outdoors in an impressionistic manner and began painting from postcards. He concentrated on depicting white buildings with glue, plaster and white paint. His most outstanding paintings were created then. (The so-called white period 1908-14). The next phase of his oeuvre is characterized by bright colors and a greater emphasis on line, as well as a new subject: women walking on the street seen with their backs to the viewer (the so-called cloisonné period 1914-20). After 1920, he created paintings that were multicolored but of lesser artistic merit (the so-called cloisonné period).
In 1912 he participated in an exhibition of French art in Munich. In 1913 he had his first solo exhibition. In 1924, due to a progressive alcoholic disease, he was imprisoned and attempted suicide. In 1928 he was awarded the Legion of Honor. In 1935 he married Lucie Valore, a French actress who had previously been friends with his mother.
He was an extremely prolific painter. During World War I alone, he painted 1,200 oil paintings. A posthumous catalog of his works lists more than 3,500 paintings. The main theme of his works became the cityscape (narrow, poor streets, backstreets of Paris, gray walls, small towns, provincial churches). He also painted portraits and still lifes. He was sporadically involved in stage design: in 1926 he made decorations for Sergei Diaghilev's Russian Ballets company, and in 1948 he worked with the Comédie Opera in Paris.
He died of pneumonia.
