If you go to up the hill to Montmartre in Paris and find 13, rue de Ravignan, you will find the site of the Bateau Lavoir, the unofficial designation given to the building where a conglomeration of artists and writers lived in the early 1900s. Some of the residents of the then dilapidated old wooden building included Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani, Jacques Vaillant, Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, André Derain, Maurice Utrillo, Guillaume Apollinaire, Alfred Jarry, Jean Cocteau, Gustave Coquiot, and more artists, writers, actors, and other creatives.
Sadly, the building burned down in 1970. Below are pictures of the building from Picasso’s era in Montmartre and from the present day. After the Bateau Lavoir, or Wash Boat, was destroyed, it was rebuilt about 8 years later using cement. However, the studios were rebuilt as before and today there are still 20-plus artist’s studios in the building.
–Le Bateau Lavoir from Christies, photographer unknown
–the other side of the Bateau Levoir
–the Bateau Lavoir on fire in 1970. It was rebuilt in 1978.
–a more recent photo of the building
Max Jacob, the poet, named the building Bateau Lavoir because the undulation of the boards during windy weather and the noise that was made as one walked around the building interior reminded him of the laundry boats on the Seine that made similar noises. Not really a washhouse, there was only one faucet for use of all the tenants in its storied heyday. Being an artist meant you needed cheap lodgings, and the Bateau Lavoir was perfect for so many not yet famous painters and writers and other artistic men and women.
The picture above is of Picasso with the building in the background. All the artists and writers would get together and talk about art trends and techniques. As Picasso’s Rose Period ended, his Cubist period began with the painting of Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. This 1907 painting was created in Picasso’s studio at the Bateau Lavoir. Today, the painting can be seen at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Picasso lived in the Bateau Lavoir from 1904 to 1909. He kept his studio there until 1912.
–Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, Pablo Picasso, 1907, oil on canvas, 244 x 234 cm, Museum of Modern Art, New York
At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, most of the artists abandoned the Bateau Lavoir for other places in Paris and beyond.
Sources: artsology.com, christies.com, montmartre-guide.com, Wikipedia
So interesting, Denise. A couple of years ago my A to Z theme was “Paris Between the Wars,” and your posts are like reading a deeper layer to such a rich and vibrant time (and what was there before the end of WWI).
I loved your Paris theme, Martha!
Hi Denise – so interesting to read these snippets of history, and art …and to see the images you’re using to enlighten us further … thanks – I’m find the posts so interesting … cheers Hilary
Thanks, Hilary. I am glad you are enjoying!! And everyone should check out your posts on Canada at http://positiveletters.blogspot.com/!!
Picasso, a giant among geniuses. Too bad the building was destroyed. Great background information, Denise. I’ll be sure to look for the area, if I find myself in Paris.
Yes, I was sad to hear that the original building burned down. I know I have probably passed right by here previously, but I knew nothing about the Bateau Lavoir until I started reading about Picasso and his friends from the very early 1900s.
It always seems so strange to see people in pictures being so young, as “we” sometimes are only used to seeing pictures of them when they were old. On the other hand, it’s easy to see in my mind the old dilapidated building with the shutters being so “grand” up on the hill when it was young.
Yes, so true, ZD. Well, Picasso did have 80 years on me! I love seeing pics of the impressionists and the Lost Generation when they were young.
Thanks for teaching me about this, it was very interesting.
Thank you, Miss Andi! Cheers, Denise