Montmartre, a place of my utopian dreams. I have long fixated on times and places I coulda, shoulda, and woulda lived in, and this was one of those places. Similar in spirit to some of the other bohemian artist enclaves of both my own country as well as some of the others I have visited, Montmartre fit the bill. A once remotely located and inexpensive place for folks to congregate, home to working class people, as well as people with a wildly independent, spirited, and artistic bent, it was one of those rare "space and place" times that created a unique energy force that birthed an artistic movement like no other.
Expressions like "revolutionary politics," and "underground or alternative culture" came to be associated with the place in the late 19th and early 20th century. And oh those "Avante-garde artists" or so they later were called; who knows the monikers they had when they were drinking, drugging, sleeping around, and painting prostitutes.
This decadent society of raucous intellectuals and artists are largely replaced by wide-eyed, history-loving tourists. I don't know if all were like me, forgoing the stuffy stroll through gallery after gallery in the Louvre for this persipitous journey up the Mont. It was well worth it. I loved it up there as you will see by the plethora of pictures that I have been lost in for weeks now.
A great piece on Montmartre put out by the Met:
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mont/hd_mont.htm
and another by Travel France online:
http://www.travelfranceonline.com/montmartre-village-place-tertre-history/
We hung on the Northern slope, which is to say we did not go to the top or visit the more touristy Basilique du Sacre-Coeur area. How both this highly christian (Catholic) minor Basillica and the radical socialist Paris Commune of 1871 could co-exist on this butte Montmartre is beyond my understanding.
This schism in the French social order is one I think most likely still exists today. The French Revolotion started the change and the secularists, socialists, and radicals have kept pace with ensuring the country/city remain progressive and free. And for this I am glad, and for the bohemian spirit that still clings to the Northern slope I am also grateful.
My independent, secular, bohemian soul was at peace on this hill, and will forever be remembered.
For those wanting a more comprehensive take on the area, here is a blog that does that:
http://www.aparisguide.com/montmartre/
This convergence of streets Montmartre Rue Norvins, Rue des Saules, Place Jean-Baptiste Clement is at the base of Montmartre and then we headed up North from here.
"The museum is housed in buildings, which are three centuries old, the Hotel Demarne and the Maison du Bel Air. It was home to many famous artists and writers..." It was built in the seventeenth century as the Bel Air House and is the oldest building in Montmartre.
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| There is still even a piece of wild forest behind the house and next to the vineyards. It is mostly inhabited by cats. |
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| Clos Montmartre Vinyard; the vineyard actually still produces a few hundred bottles of wine which are auctioned off each year. There used to be many vineyards in Montmartre and the wine they produced was called la Goutte d’Or (Drop of Gold). Still today, 1,760 vines generate over 500 liters (130 gallons) of wine each year, the profits from which are donated to Parisian charities. |
The vineyard grows on the north side of the Montmartre hill, along the Rue Saint-Vincent and rue des Saules .
On either side are two buildings famous Montmartre: the cabaret Lapin Agile and the Museum of Montmartre .
The Cabaret as it looked in 1900 and 1904
and how it looks in 2015.
But let's back up and look into the historic period of the utopic, yet bloody, Paris Commune of 1871. The memory of this revolutionary and socialist government that briefly ruled Paris still haunts the paved streets of Montmartre today. The Commune came in with dreams of a new world, of a secular state and free education. Just 72 days later, the events of the “bloody week” crushed all hopes of a new beginning.
I say, "VIVA LES FEDERES!"
Then there were all the paintings of the place:
And of course there is Pierre Auguste Renoir. He wasn't in the crazy partying gang, wasn't radical or wild, but he was sure as hell an amazing painter and a truly dedicated artist. Starting in the Impressionist Movement, which really were the original rebels for bucking the government backed and sponsored snooty "salons," and mounting their own independent exhibitions, his paintings reflect a sort of tender response or impression that the world had on the man. A man from humble beginnings (just a mere mortal I say), he suffered terribly from rheumatoid arthritis and yet he painted on for 3 decades with the crippling condition. OF COURSE HE IS AN IDOL! How could he not be?
And being the mere mortal that he was, and flawed as we all are, he has some baggage and I some unanswered question about his first model (and never wife) and that model's child- reported to be Renoirs, although he never in life acknowledged her (sadness right, which leds to conflicted emotions, which stirs me up and leaves me indecisive). Also of note, is that Mr. Renoir, although he did eventually marry her, had an out-of-wedlock son with his eventual wife. Interesting, very interesting.
Renoir's actual home is one of these beside the vineyard, it's at # 6 Rue de l'Abreuvoir. The house went on sale in 2008 for about 5.5 million!
We were so thankful to see this exhibit at the Musee Montmartre, it was awesome. However, as we found in many places, there was not a catalog for us to purchase so we could review and re-imagine in our dotage, so I tried to capture it all on my smartphone to dump here. I know I shall never pass that way again and I truly want to always remember this place.
And then there was ALL the other artists and stuff...
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I often wondered who, what, why, and when it was that some of the artists fame rose higher and longer from this group of talented folk. Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa, also known as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was one of those I wondered about. Exposure as a kid to an adults take on history does little for the trajectory that ones oneself later embarks upon, except as a speck of a memory which appears later as a blur of vague knowledge. That's how it was with this funny little man. I think I kinda had heard or knew of him. And then here he was!
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| Something people thought noble and aristocratic back in the day, Henri's family suffered the double misfortune of descending wealth and illness from too much inbreeding. Now how would you like that as a legacy!?! You can't see it in this upper body portrait, but the man had deformities of the legs and a condition/syndrome that eventually would be named after him= his upper body grew while his legs remained that of a child's. His adult height was only 5'1", and to make matters worse, it was also alleged that he is also reported to have had hypertrophied genitals (not sure if this made his matters worse or not, mayhaps he was a curiousity to those prostitutes that he seemed to love so much). |
When the nearby Moulin Rouge cabaret opened its doors, Toulouse-Lautrec was commissioned to produce a series of posters. Thereafter, the cabaret reserved a seat for him, and displayed his paintings.
Talk about tragedy. Lautrec's little life was filled with it.
Toulouse-Lautrec spent much time in brothels, where he was accepted by the prostitutes and madams to such an extent that he often moved in, and lived in a brothel for weeks at a time. He shared the lives of the women who made him their confidant, painting and drawing them at work and at leisure. Lautrec recorded their intimate relationships, which were often lesbian. A favourite model was a red-haired prostitute called Rosa la Rouge from whom he allegedly contracted syphilis.
An alcoholic for most of his adult life, Toulouse-Lautrec was placed in a sanatorium shortly before his death. He died from complications due to alcoholism and syphilis at the family estate in Malrome, fewer than three months before his 37th birthday.
Little did I know of the many halls and bars and raucious times that these Parisians were engaged in. Was it art? Was it productive? Who gets to decide it? History, I guess. It certainly was a throwing off of the stuffy, restricting, rigors of "acceptable" society and forging a new, anti-establishment way. Right or wrong I sure wish I could have hung at these places with these people, if only for a little while.
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| In my fantasy mind I inserted my husband playing the guitar (not a far stretch given the looks, sort of dubious given the lack of talent on the guitar, but heck, it's a fantasy), and I am the lady in the checkers to the left- surrounded by men and smoking a cigarette. Viva la decadence! |
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| I always wanted to be a chanteuse because I just adored the word! |
Another place/cabaret I would have loved to hang out in was the Quart'Z'Arts.
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Oh those bohemians! Mocking the world and creating scandal seemed to be their thing (and partying of course).
       
A sanctuary for independent thinking- now how cool is that? I so would have rocked this place. If only...
    
My two favorite pictures from the Musee:
 
The story attached to this picture by Vincent is such a great one. Can you imagine what it must have been like for Mr. Tanguy? I so wonder what he did with his collection? I never could find out, and so it will remain a mystery for me. Vincent's time on the Butte was in 1886 when he moved in with his brother Theo. At first they lived at 25 rue Victor Massé, at the foot of the Butte Montmartre. Later they moved to Montmartre, living at 54 Rue Lepic on the Butte Montmartre. It has variously reported how the 2 years Van Gogh spent in Paris, and that time spent in Montmartre was a time of meeting many other artsits. But also, it was said that Vincent's behavior was irratic and troublesome. And another account has him cavoting with prostitutes and having an affair w/ a cabaret owner, an Italian woman who was a former artists' model.
We did not find the Van Gogh's apartment d/t time constraints, but after learning about how the bohemians were living up there, it was easy to imagine the 2 bachelor brothers frequenting brothels, bars, and cabaret's. It is easy to see how Theo could have picked up a case of syphilis that would kill him years later.
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