Montmartre

Ah, Montmartre - a must see if you're the artsy-fartsy type like us.

So much to see in this great area, lemmie talk about the history a bit:

Set on a hill, the "village" led a more rural life from that of the city back in the day, and now it is famous for having the only remaining vineyard in Paris. (There is still a yearly wine tasting festival there.)

There are different stories of how the name "Montmartre" came about. Some think it to come from the roman words for hill and martyrs "mons martirium". The reason for this, a burial ground full of Christian martyrs' bones was found up there.

Then supposedly, around the year 250AD St. Denis brought Christianity to Paris and was thanked by being tortured and decapitated on this hill overlooking the city . The story says that the saint picked up his head and walked to the place now known as St. Denis. SKILLZ!!!

Until the 19th century, Montmartre hill was pretty rural and had a number of windmills on it. Some were there for agricultural use (grain mills) and others for crushing flint.

Anywho...By the end of the 19th century it was a mecca for artists, writers, poets, cabarets and revues. Some artists who lived and worked in the studios of Montmartre:

Picasso - Les Demoiselles d'Avignon is perhaps the most well known because of its meaning for cubism. It was painted while he lived here.

Toulouse Lautrec - painted the night life and cabaret. He painted many of the advertising posters for the Moulin Rouge, La Chat Noir, and Cabaret. OOOHH LA LA!!

Here is an amazing website about Montmartre and Lautrec:

>http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2005/toulouse/index.shtm

Amedeo Modigliani - came from Livorno in Italy and was pretty much ignored until recently. He developed his own style and is particularly well known for his geometric stylization.

Degas - Degas is thought of as "one of the founders of impressionism" and inspired and infuenced many artists of the time. He was also known for organizing exhibitions.

Van Gogh - He lived in number 25 Rue Victor Masse and Rue Lepic 54. Shackin' up with his brother Theo.

Whew! That's a lot of info. Anyhooo...Montmartre is absolutely amazing to walk around...too much to list here. But walking on the quaint cobblestone streets where so many amazing artists have lived and worked, seeing the Sacre-Coeur, the Moulin Rouge, the Lapin Agile (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapin_Agile), and the little market where they filmed "Amelie"(picture of red and green shop with "epicerie fine" written on the side) - hah! Was a magical day for me, indeed.