The oil by Miquel Utrillo 'Sitges in the 20th century', - also known as 'Sitges to come', - has arrived at the Maricel Museum, on loan from the National Museum of Art of Catalonia (MNAC). The work was placed last Thursday next to the painting Sitges from the past, by Santiago Rusiñol, in a dialogue between the two paintings, having similar in size and dated circa 1895. Both are in the hall on the first floor of the Maricel Museum christened as the Cau Ferrat Brewery, named in tribute to the establishment on Passeig de la Ribera at the end of the 19th century that was visited by modernist artists.
The work by Utrillo is an advanced portrait of his time in Sitges in the late nineteenth century. It shows a good atmosphere in a flourishing Sitges with people enjoying the environment. The image of the Punta dominates the work, in which you can also see boats moored at La Fragata. It was reproduced in La Veu de Sitges on August 27, 1895, on the occasion of its presentation.
In its new location, Sitges in the 20th century is located next to Sitges from the past (1895), by Santiago Rusiñol, which is an allegory to the history of Sitges with figured elements and images. Both works together discuss local history.
Sitges in the twentieth century was acquired by the MNAC in 1959. The transfer to the Sitges Heritage Consortium was made on deposit, thanks to a collaboration agreement between the two institutions. The work was shown at 'Miquel Utrillo i les arts' exhibition, curated by Vinyet Panyella, and organized by the City Council of Sitges and the Sitges Heritage Consortium at the Miramar Building in 2009, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the death of Miquel Utrillo. The work is 176 centimeters high and 112 centimeters width, and is known as Sitges in the 20th century as well as Sitges to come.
The hall of the Cau Ferrat Brewery, in the Maricel Museum, exhibits a series of works that were hung in the same establishment in La Ribera. Those are paintings that reproduce the landscapes and customs of Sitges at the time. In addition to these two works by Miquel Utrillo and Santiago Rusiñol, there are other paintings, all of them from 1895: The harvest of malvasia, by Josep Miró i Argenter - that was moved out of place, but in the same hall -; Allegory of fishing, by Arcadi Mas i Fondevila; The dauber, by Cándid Duran; and En Cuca, by Santiago Rusiñol. On the occasion of the arrival of the twentieth century, three chronocopies by Cándid Duran and one by Antoni Almirall, showing the orchard of Can Falç, as well as another by the same Almirall, portraying a bottle of Moscatel from Sitges.