Maurice Utrillo

 A small painting depicting a glimpse of Montmartre, "Rue Sain Rustiche," which the painter depicted on numerous occasions, capturing different suggestions at different times and periods. There are about twelve known oil paintings of this same street. This small painting is certainly among the earliest works of this subject. The white walls, illuminated by the sun, are obtained by mixing color with glue and denote his first pictorial period, probably around 1905-10. The age is confirmed by the type of canvas board and by the oxidation caused by natural aging. Utrillo's technique of depicting the side walls of the path, inclined and oblique upwards, widening the view to obtain more depth and breathing space, is interesting. Our painting was once shrunk to fit into this beautiful 19th-century frame, certainly by an imprudent person, who, to make it smaller, cut off the lower part, where our author's signature should have appeared. There are also numerous prints that follow this same path, produced up until the 1950s. Montmartre was almost an obsession for our painter, but the works from his early period carry an energy and intensity that would fade over the years. Technical and scientific tests were carried out on the painting, guaranteeing its period originality and its absolute compatibility with the artist.