1940, Maurice Utrillo, The Barracks at Montmartre -- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond)
From the museum label: Although Utrillo and his mother had moved to a château near Lyon in 1924, he continued to paint scenes of the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris where he was born and raised. Postcards and memories frequently served as the basis for the introverted artist's compositions. Despite the undisputed lack of evolution and originality throughout Utrillo's mature career, The Barracks at Montmartre is notable for his modest but unmistakable patriotism. The same year this painting was completed, the entire northern half of the country fell under the totalitarian rule of the Nazi Reich. The French Republic would be abolished and its flag prohibited--yet here, the blue, white, and red bands of the nation unfurl discreetly above a guarded barracks and street in Montmartre, where passers-by go about their daily affairs. The French military presence and the nonchalance of the citizens suggest an atmosphere of peace that appears at once nostalgic and optimistic in the context of the painting's production.
1940, Maurice Utrillo, The Barracks at Montmartre -- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond)
From the museum label: Although Utrillo and his mother had moved to a château near Lyon in 1924, he continued to paint scenes of the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris where he was born and raised. Postcards and memories frequently served as the basis for the introverted artist's compositions. Despite the undisputed lack of evolution and originality throughout Utrillo's mature career, The Barracks at Montmartre is notable for his modest but unmistakable patriotism. The same year this painting was completed, the entire northern half of the country fell under the totalitarian rule of the Nazi Reich. The French Republic would be abolished and its flag prohibited--yet here, the blue, white, and red bands of the nation unfurl discreetly above a guarded barracks and street in Montmartre, where passers-by go about their daily affairs. The French military presence and the nonchalance of the citizens suggest an atmosphere of peace that appears at once nostalgic and optimistic in the context of the painting's production.