MAURICE UTRILLO (PARIS, 1883 – DAX, 1955) The Market in Montmartre 1924 Oil on cardboard 38 x 51.8 cm. Signed and dated lower left ‘Maurice. Utrillo, V. 1924’ Provenance Paul Pétridès, Paris. Continental Galleries of Fine Art, Montreal. Private collection, New York; Christie’s auction, New York, 12 May 1988, lot 258. Gilbert Pétridès, Paris. Acquired from the above. Certificate Appraisal by Jean Fabris On this occasion, Utrillo temporarily turns away from the urban landscape, with its ruler-straight buildings, to focus on his figures, framing them as closely as possible in order to capture the atmosphere of the Montmartre market. Stereotypical, even formulaic, his female figures all share the same curvaceous silhouette, with a rounded hip. Ignoring the ‘low-waisted’ fashion of the time, the painter instead seeks to convey volumes through interchangeable colours, as evidenced by the two skirts – blue and ochre – worn by the women on the right, or the black dresses of the war widows in the centre. Little attention is paid to detail and the faces are difficult to make out. The painter works with small, vivid and colourful brushstrokes. For here, it is the recreation of a lively and colourful atmosphere that interests the artist. His palette of warm colours, which brings the tree foliage and market stalls to life, is echoed in the faces and hair of the figures. The red wall that frames the composition on the left thus echoes the chimneys and roofs, glimpsed through the foliage, but also the woman on the right, who provides a counterpoint to it. With his Tachist approach, Maurice Utrillo demonstrates his full range of talents as a colourist here.