Montmartre

Francine StefanFrance/Spain Miniterm

March 13, 2006

Montmartre

• A hill in the north of Paris. Part of the Right Bank (known for Basilica of the Sacre Coeur).

• Name comes from Mont des Martyrs (Saint Denis and others were decapitated here in year 272)

Montmartre (contd.)

• Montmartre is outside the city limits (free of Paris taxes; popular drinking area)

• Developed into center of free-wheeling and decadent entertainment at

the end of the 19th century.

• Moulin Rouge and Le Chart Noir

also located nearby.

Theophile Steinlen’s famous advertisement for the tour of

the Chat Noir cabaret

Basilica of the Sacre Coeur

• Built on Montmartre 1876-1912 by public subscription (as gesture of expiation after the defeat of 1871 in the Franco-Prussian War).

Artists Gather…• During the mid-1800s artists such as Johan

Jongkind and Camille Pissarro came to live on Montmartre.

• Montmartre became the artistic center of Paris (as well as its counterpoint, Montparnasse).

• Pablo Picasso, Amadeo Modigliani and other artists lived and worked at Le Bateau-Lavoir between 1904-1909

• Artists associations (Les Nabis & Incoherents) and artists such as van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Toulouse-Lautre worked in Montmartre and drew their inspiration from the area.

Camille Pissarro1830-1903

21st Century

• Day and night, tourists visit such sights as the Place du Tertre and the cabaret du Lapin Agile.

• The movie Amelie is set in an exaggeratedly quaint version of contemporary Montmartre.

• Montmartre is an officially designated historic district with limited development allowed in order to maintain its historic character.

• The area is largely known today for adult novelty.

Got Questions?

Bibliography

• http://www.pariserve.tm.fr/English/paris/montmart.htm

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montmartre

• http://www.parisdigest.com/promenade/montmartre.htm