RUE CHEVALIER DE LA BARRE, MONTMARTRE

Maurice Utrillo was born in Montmartre, Paris in 1883 as the illegitimate son of Suzanne Valadon, who modeled for Degas and Renoir and later became a painter herself. Since his childhood, he was taken care of by his grandmother, who is said to have been very fond of drinking and would even allow the young Maurice Utrillo to drink. He became an alcoholic at a young age, maybe as a result of this, and so when he was 20, his mother Suzanne Valadon gave him a paint brush to help combat his addiction.　
In 1903, he moved to Montmartre in the Paris suburb of Montmagny and in 1910, he was admitted to a sanatorium in Sanoy for treatment of alcoholism. From this point until around 1914 is referred to as his "White Period", which would later be highly regarded as the height of his artistic career.
His first solo exhibition was held at the Eugène Blot Gallery in 1913, but only two of the 31 works exhibited had sold. However, his solo exhibition at the Le Poutre Gallery in 1919 gained high acclaim, bringing him into the limelight. Utrillo was one of the few French born painters of the Ecole de Paris, along with Marie Laurencin. Primarily focusing on the neighborhood of Montmartre where he grew up, Utrillo often painted the streets of Paris in its melancholic tranquility.
He passed away in 1955.