Maurice Utrillo, born Maurice Valadon on December 26, 1883 in the Montmartre quarter of Paris, France was a French painter of the School of Paris who specialized in cityscapes. When he was 21, Utrillo took up painting at the encouragement of his mother. Eventually, the two shared a studio in Montmartre.

At age 22, he sold his first painting and by 1909 he was exhibiting his work at the prestigious Salon d'Automne. By 1910, he had achieved considerable critical acclaim, having developed a style of landscape painting that combined features of Post-Impressionism and Cubism. Utrillo died November 5, 1955 in France.