As a center of bohemian culture and an emerging tourist destination, Paris’s Montmartre was often depicted in newly available, mass-produced picture postcards at the beginning of the twentieth century. Despite being ambivalent about the commodification of his neighborhood, Utrillo frequently based his paintings on such postcards, as well as on photographs by Eugène Atget and others, demonstrating how photography influenced artists working in different mediums. Although the exact source for Utrillo's painting has yet to be identified, La Rue des Abbesses shares with Atget’s streetscapes a fascination with dramatic geometric forms.
Gallery label from 2022
