Description of the attraction
The Montmartre Museum exists because in 1886 a group of artists decided to preserve and protect the history and culture of their beloved quarter. They gathered in a bistro, discussed the problem, and founded the Old Montmartre Society to seek and preserve any evidence of the area's history. In 1960, a museum was opened, which used everything that "Old Montmartre" managed to accumulate.
The exposition of the museum is devoted to four themes: the history of the region, the Paris Commune, the holidays of Montmartre and bohemia. The model of the old village by the artist and sculptor Georges Vollmer is an excellent illustration of the first theme. You can clearly see how people lived on the hill when it was inhabited by workers who mined limestone and peasants. In the section on the Paris Commune, there are many posters and documents describing how the commune was born and how it was suppressed. The costumes of dancers and posters of the famous cabarets "Moulin Rouge", "Agile Rabbit", "Black Cat", "Japanese Sofa", made by Toulouse-Lautrec, Cheret and other famous masters, speak about the festive Montmartre. The section "Bohemia" presents photographs and canvases of many famous artists who lived and worked in Montmartre at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The old Rosimon mansion, which houses the museum, is also part of the history of Montmartre. It is believed to have belonged to Rosimon, the playwright and actor of the Moliere troupe who played the role of Moliere after his death. Later, there was the first studio of Auguste Renoir - in this garden he painted the lovely "Swing" and "Garden on rue Cortot in Montmartre." The artist Suzanne Valadon and her son Maurice Utrillo lived here, the writers Leon Blois and Pierre Riverdi, artists Maximilian Luce, Oton Frizez, Raoul Dufy, Charles Camuan, Francis Pulbeau visited. It was Pulbo who saved the local vineyard in 1929, when they wanted to build residential buildings in its place. The vineyard Le Clos Montmartre, which runs down the hillside, is visible from the windows of the mansion, and in the shop at the museum you can buy not only books, but also local wine.
Now restoration is underway here - an ambitious plan involves doubling the area of exhibitions and gardens, while the museum continues to work.
