The Musée du Montparnasse was a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

at 21 Avenue du Maine, in the

15th arrondissement The 15th arrondissement of Paris () is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ('the fifteenth'). The 15th arrondissement, called , is situated on the left bank of the River Seine. ...

, Montparnasse Quarter of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France. The museum closed in 2015.

Background

The museum opened its doors on 28 May 1998. Located at the former

site Site most often refers to: * Archaeological site * Campsite, a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area * Construction site * Location, a point or an area on the Earth's surface or elsewhere * Website, a set of related web pages, typical ...

of the early-1900s

atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or vi ...

of the Russian

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

Marie Vassilieff Mariya Ivanovna Vassilieva (Russian: Мария Ивановна Васильева;1884-1957), better known as Marie Vassilieff, was a Russian-born painter and set designer active in Paris. She was born on February 12, 1884 in Smolensk, Russi ...

, the museum was founded by

Roger Pic Roger is a masculine given name, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic languages, Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") ...

and Jean-Marie Drot as a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

operation. The museum provided visitors with a history of the multitude of artists who came from around the world to live and work in Montparnasse at the beginning of the twentieth century, plus the museum put on temporary

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

s of works by Montparnasse artists, both past and present. For years, both before and during World War I, Marie Vassilieff also operated what was registered as a private club that acted as a

canteen Canteen most often refers to: * Canteen (bottle), a water container * Cafeteria, a type of food service location within an institution in which there is little or no waiting staff table service * A complete set of cutlery comprising knives, forks, ...

for artists where food and drink were provided as cheaply as possible to struggling painters such as,

Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (; ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor of the École de Paris who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern art, modern style characterized by a surre ...

Chaïm Soutine Chaïm Soutine (; ; ; 13 January 1893 – 9 August 1943) was a French painter of Belarusian-Jewish origin of the School of Paris, who made a major contribution to the Expressionist movement while living and working in Paris. Inspired by clas ...

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

, and others. Before long it became the gathering place for many others in the area and, by 1913, Vassilieff's canteen was so widely known that painter, sculptor, and filmmaker,

Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...

, gave two lectures there on the topic of

Modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...

. As part of a

membership Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

program, the Musée du Montparnasse offered a once-a-month evening meeting where members gathered to enjoy a variety of cultural events.

References

External links

Museum official website
(archived 31 March 2013) {{DEFAULTSORT:Montparnasse, Musee du Defunct art museums and galleries in Paris Musée du Montparnasse Art museums and galleries established in 1998 Musée du Montparnasse Art museums and galleries disestablished in 2015 2015 disestablishments in France

Background

See also

References

External links