Bateau-Lavoir, Picasso's Residence And Studio, 1904 - 1909

[For Step Three of the Gertrude Stein Pilgrimmage, please see my entry at: France > Ile de France > Paris > Montmartre > Rue Lepic.]

Our destination was that of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, as described in the former’s 1933 memoir The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas: Pablo Picasso’s early studio in Montmartre. About their arrival, Stein writes, “[We] came to the rue Ravignan, now place Emile-Goudeau but otherwise unchanged, with its steps leading up to the little flat square with its few but tender little trees ….”

Elsewhere in the book, Stein provided supplemental information about the area, writing, “We were all to meet at the café at the foot of the rue Ravignan and to have an apéritif and then go up to Picasso’s atelier and have dinner,” the infamous banquet, in fact, hosted by Picasso in honor of Henri Rousseau.

Try as we might, John and I could not locate any café in the immediate area. We proceeded across the square to Bateau-Lavoir. Unfortunately, it was closed due to fire damage, but it was enough to enjoy the atmosphere of the shady little square (the trees no longer tender), knowing its association with greatness.

Translating from the French caption on the back of this postcard, “Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) lived and worked at bateau-lavoir, 13, place Émile Goudeau from 1904 to 1909. The cluster of studios was also frequented by George Braque, Guillaume Apollinaire, Juan Gris, Kees Van Dongen, Constantin Brancusi and many others. It was here that Picasso painted the canvases of his “Rose Period” and, during 1906-1907, Les demoiselles d’Avignon.”

Before undertaking our return trip, we toured Sacré-Coeur and sought out le Lapin Agile. Before heading back to the lowlands, we committed to watch for any signs of any vestiges of the art dealerships that had trafficked Picasso’s early paintings. And would it even be in the realm of possibility to find a confectioner such as the one from whom Gertrude and Alice B. bought honey cakes?

[For Step Five of the Gertrude Stein Pilgrimmage, please see my entry at: France > Ile de France > Paris > Fouquet.]