Etienne Morillon, 'Portrait of Miquel Utrillo'

Etienne Morillon (French, 1884 – 1949)

Portrait of Miquel Utrillo

Oil on canvas

Atelier stamp of Etienne Morillon (on the stretcher)

39.1/2 x 25.3/4 in. (100.3 x 65.5 cm.)

Étienne Morillon, born in 1884, was a student of the Ecole des Beaux Arts of Lyon. In 1905 Morillon moved to Paris, where he met Miquel Utrillo. In Paris, Morillion’s style was heavily influence by Cubism and art deco, particularly by artist such as Paul Cézanne and André Derain. Many of Morillon’s works are currently exhibited in Lyon’s Museum of Fine Art.

The sitter, Miquel Utrillo, born in Barcelona in 1862, was a renowned Spanish engineer, painter, critic and decorator. Utrillo’s artistic career blossomed when he moved to Paris in 1889. It was in Paris that Utrillo worked closely with Santiago Rusiñol, another fundamental Spanish artist of the period, who introduced him to other Modernist artists working in Paris.

Étienne Morillon’s grand post-Impressionist portrait of the artist Miquel Utrillo is remarkably striking. Utrillo’s elongated and pointed facial features are accentuated by the deep red and dark tones of the painting.