Bateau lavoir

In the 1890s, Thionville began to hand over the building of the former piano factory on the then Ravignan Square (now Emile Goudau Square, place Emile Goudeau ) to poor artists for workshops. The building was located on a steep hillside of Montmartre and from the side of Garot street (rue Garreau) was five-story, while from the entrance side it seemed one-story. The dilapidated hut was small rooms and workshops of artists with creaking floors, located along narrow corridors. There was no electricity and gas, there was only one water tap for all five floors, and the rooms were heated using bourgeois stoves . “Moreover, for thirty-forty residents there was only one toilet, the doors of which did not close due to the lack of a latch and constantly slammed from drafts” ^[2] . Bateau Lavoir received its name for its outward resemblance to old barges on which the laundresses washed clothes. In addition, in the appearance of this name, the laundry that was hung right on the windows (there was nowhere else) played a role.

The first of the artists in Bato Lavoir, settled Nantes Maxim Mofra (in 1892 ). In 1900 , he received here Paul Gauguin , who returned from his first trip to Tahiti . Between 1900 and 1904 , two groups of artists settled in the building: Italians (the most famous of them Ardengo Soffici ) and Spaniards ( Paco Durrio stood at the head of their group).

In the spring of 1904, the “floating laundry” became the first Parisian refuge for the young Pablo Picasso , who lived here with his dog Frica until 1909 . In the fall of 1905, his beloved Fernanda Olivier moved to Picasso. In his small room, by the light of a kerosene lamp (and when there was no money for kerosene - by candlelight ) he painted his paintings, including The Avignon Maidens , from which Cubism began. In the evenings, Picasso was drinking all over Montmartre with his friends, returning to Bateau Lavoir only in the morning and notifying the inhabitants of neighboring houses of his return with shots from a revolver . In 1908 , Picasso organized a banquet in his studio in honor of Henri Russo , and in the fall of the following year, along with Fernanda, he moved to a much more comfortable apartment on Clichy Boulevard.

In addition to Picasso, many artists, poets and other representatives of the Parisian bohemia lived in Bateau Lavoir, Max Jacob and Andre Salmon (one of them christened the building of the “floating laundry” in 1904), Pierre Reverdi , Amedeo Modigliani , Pablo Gargallo , as well as Juan Gris that life in Bato Lavoire cost health. Romanian Konstantin Brynkushi and Dutchman Kees van Dongen also lived in Bato Lavoir. In addition, Guillaume Appoliner , Georges Braque , Henri Matisse , Jean Cocteau , Gertrude Stein and many others constantly visited the hostel. Young artists were so poor that they often did not have the money to buy coal for heating a room and food. Therefore, at the gates of the " Agile rabbit " cabaret, they often put up a cauldron with soup .

After 1914 , many inhabitants of Bato Lavoir moved to other parts of Paris, in particular to the Montparnasse quarter, which took over from Montmartre the role of the Bohemian quarter after the First World War . In 1965, the building was recognized as a monument, but in 1970 it burned down, only the facade in Emil Gudo Square was preserved. A few years later, Bateau Lavoir was rebuilt again (from concrete).

• Hive (squat)
• Paris school