Rue Ravignan, Paris

Maurice Utrillo

1910 · Oil on canvas · Modern and Contemporary Art

The Rue Ravignan, in the Montmartre section of Paris, was something of a landmark, since at number 13 was the famous building nicknamed “Le Bâteau-Lavoir,” which housed the studios of such avant-garde artists as Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, and Kees van Dongen. Although Utrillo, a close friend of Amedeo Modigliani, was not part of the group centered around Picasso, the Rue Ravignan was for him, as it was for them, the hub of artistic life. The street, situated on the southwestern slope of Montmartre, offered Utrillo a plethora of motifs, focused primarily on buildings rather than landscape. He was drawn to a few buildings of no historical importance and to the shabby shops as depicted in this painting. Here, the white walls, where the paint is heavily applied with the palette knife, convey the impression of dilapidation, particularly in the lower front section of the buildings. The painting belongs to a group of Utrillo’s so-called “maisons tragiques.” Another version of this subject, dated slightly later, is also in The Met's collection (1975.1.213).

Artist

Maurice Utrillo

Date

1910

Medium

Oil on canvas

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Credit line

Gift of Alexander and Gregoire Tarnopol, 1970