HISTORICAL CAFES IN PARIS
La Closerie des Lilas, in the heart of intellectual and artistic Parisian life.

In the second half of the 19th century, the impressionists Claude Monet, Frederic Bazille, Auguste Renoir began to abandon Montmartre and its crowds in order to come and replenish themselves in this place. Surrounded by lilacs, the terrace of the Closerie des Lilas with its trees creating shade has everything to seduce you. Situated on the route from Paris to Orleans, the Closerie served equally as a stage coach stop. The owner rented out rooms to passing travellers. The poets Baudelaire and Verlaine felt good there. Painters like Ingres brought their models here.

T

he whole of literary and artistic Paris flocks there.

The Closerie des Lilas should be renamed after Paul fort, elected “prince of poets” in 1912 who succeeded in making the Closerie des Lilas “an international centre for art and literature”. The numerous writers and artists of the entire world met up at the Closerie des Lilas where each Tuesday poetry readings were organised.
It was moreover during these evenings that in 1905 cubism was born. A young poet on return from military service Maurice Raynal presented Pablo Picasso who was then established at Montmartre.
Three other poets present that evening (Apollinaire, Max Jacob and André Salmon) took the defence of Pablo Picasso and his friends: Matisse, Braque and Derain.

Stories from this era are not lacking. They illustrate the animation around these literary evenings where one drinks a lot.
Alfred Jarry, a revolver maniac, fired a blank in the direction of the windows of the establishment. Max Jacob, regular of the Lapin Agile at Montmartre, climbed onto a table and danced reciting a satirical poem.