Maurice Utrillo

French painter. Born as an illegitimate child in Montmartre, Paris. His mother was Suzanne Valadon (1865-1938), who served as a model for Renoir, Degas, and Toulouse-Lautrec, and later became a female painter herself. In 1891, the Spaniard Miguel Utrillo (1862-1934) adopted the fatherless boy in the family register, and he took the surname Utrillo thereafter. However, when he first began painting, he signed his paintings as Maurice Valadon, and even after he began signing his works as Maurice Utrillo, he continued to add the letter "V" at the end to represent Valadon.

Utrillo was fascinated by alcohol at a young age and fell into the bad habit of drinking. He could not hold down jobs at a bank for long, and in 1901, he was sent to a sanatorium due to his weakened state caused by alcoholism. The following year, following the doctor's advice, his mother forced Utrillo to pick up a paintbrush in order to divert his attention from drinking. From then on, he began to paint the suburbs of Paris and the streets of Montmartre using his own unique style. The period from 1903 to 1907 is called the "Montmagny period," during which he painted landscapes of Montmagny, the suburb of Paris where he lived at the time, in one go with thick, rough, dark tones. The influence of Impressionism can be seen in these paintings. Then came the "white period." He became fascinated with white buildings, and mixed plaster into his paint to express the texture of the walls. The dingy bare walls of houses, gloomy neighborhoods, deserted streets, hotels with closed shutters, and churches are depicted with a rich poetic feeling, albeit from postcards, photographs, and memories. This "White Period," which lasted from about 1907 (or 1910) to about 1914, was the period when Utrillo's creativity reached its zenith, and almost all of his masterpieces were produced during this period, although he continued to drink alcohol.

What followed was the "color period", in which lustrous colors were used and greens were emphasized, but it also marked the beginning of a period of decline. During the last 25 years of his life, his health improved, he gained fame, he married the widow of a collector in 1935, and his life became stable, but his work no longer showed the same tension or vitality, and he no longer became a painter who produced, but who produced. He died in Dax.

[Tatsuji Omori]

"Utrillo: The World's Great Masters Series, with commentary by A. Werner and translated by Reiji Koda (1981, Bijutsu Shuppansha)" ▽ "Complete Collection of Contemporary World Art 16: Modigliani/Utrillo, with commentary by Yasuo Kamon (1971, Shueisha)" ▽ "The Life of Utrillo, by J.P. Crespel and translated by Masaru Sato (1979, Bijutsu Koronsha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの画家。私生児としてパリのモンマルトルに生まれる。母親は、ルノワールやドガやロートレックのモデルをつとめ、のちに自ら女流画家としてたったシュザンヌ・バラドンSuzanne Valadon（1865―1938）。1891年、スペイン人のミゲル・ユトリロMiquel Utrillo（1862―1934）がこの父なし子を戸籍上の養子とし、以来ユトリロの姓を名のる。しかし、絵を描き始めたときの画中の署名はモーリス・バラドンであり、モーリス・ユトリロと署名するようになっても、バラドンを表す「V」の字を最後に添えた。

　ユトリロは幼くして酒に魅入られ、飲酒の悪癖にはまり込む。銀行などに勤めても長続きせず、1901年アルコール中毒による衰弱のため療養所に送り込まれた。翌年、医者の忠告に従い、母親は飲酒から関心をそらせようとユトリロにむりやり絵筆をとらせた。以来、彼はパリ郊外やモンマルトルの街並みを独自の画法で描くことになる。1903年から1907年までは「モンマニー時代」とよばれ、当時彼の住んでいたパリ郊外のモンマニーの風景などが、厚塗りによる粗く暗い調子で一気呵成(かせい)に描かれた。そこには印象派の影響が認められる。やがて「白の時代」が到来する。彼は白い建物に熱中し、絵の具に漆食(しっくい)を混入して壁の感触を表現した。家々の薄汚いむき出しの壁、陰鬱(いんうつ)な場末の街、人けのない通り、よろい戸が閉ざされたままのホテル、そして教会堂などが、絵はがきや写真や記憶によりながらも、詩情豊かに描き出される。1907年（ないし1910年）ごろから1914年ごろまで続いたこの「白の時代」こそユトリロの創造力が絶頂に達した時代で、飲酒癖は相変わらずだったが、彼の傑作のほとんどすべてがこの時期に生まれている。

　その後に続くのが「色彩の時代」であり、光沢のある色彩が用いられ、緑が強調される。しかし、それはまた衰退の時代の始まりでもあった。とりわけ晩年の25年間、健康は持ち直し、名誉を得、1935年にはコレクターの未亡人と結婚、生活も安定したが、その作品にはかつての緊張や生気はみられず、彼はもはや創造するためではなく、生産するための画家となった。ダクスに没。

［大森達次］

『A・ヴェルナー解説、幸田礼雅訳『世界の巨匠シリーズ　ユトリロ』（1981・美術出版社）』▽『嘉門安雄解説『現代世界美術全集16　モディリアーニ／ユトリロ』（1971・集英社）』▽『J・P・クレスペル著、佐藤昌訳『ユトリロの生涯』（1979・美術公論社）』

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