Sitges Museums commemorates the 90th anniversary of the death of Miquel Utrillo by highlighting his work

The cultural and heritage history of Sitges cannot be understood without the figure of Miquel Utrillo Morlius (Barcelona, 1862 - Sitges, 1934). Artist, engineer, decorator, art critic and cultural promoter, his role was crucial and decisive in the construction of the Maricel complex, commissioned by American philanthropist Charles Deering. Utrillo's footprint is part of the cultural identity of Sitges and his work is also present in different media (painting, drawing, billboard) in the collections of Sitges Museums.

Miquel Utrillo died now 90 years ago, on January 20, 1934 in Sitges. To commemorate this date, Museus de Sitges has scheduled a campaign for the promotion and projection of his figure and work, both as a creator and as a cultural agent directly involved in different initiatives and proposals. Along these lines, the Museums accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram will spread during these days several pieces directly linked to him, either because he is the author or the protagonist, and which are part of the collections of the museums of Cau Ferrat and Maricel

Maricel's ideologue, Miquel Utrillo led the construction of the building between 1910 and 1918, to transform the old hospital of Sant Joan acquired by Deering into one of the key references of nineteenth-century architecture in Catalonia. He endowed it with a unity of style of maximum refinement in the exteriors with the use of traditional constructive elements typical of Noucentisme (ceramics, brick, lime...), which covered the facades and the conception and dimension of the space and complemented it with a series of ornamental details from various origins and influences.

Maricel is today as Miquel Utrillo designed it. The whole building houses the Maricel Museum, the Maricel Palace and other cultural facilities, such as the Santiago Rusiñol Library, the Sitges Historical Archive and the Lola Anglada Building. Utrillo was also the author of the emblematic emblem of Maricel, with the rising sun in red and the three blue waves.