History of Atelier 11 Cité Falguière
In the beginning of the 20th century, Paris became increasingly attractive to foreign artists for a number of reasons: the lack of political repression, relative economic stability, the presence of the great masters of modern art, and a thriving world of art museums, galleries, critics, and collectors who supported the artists.
Known as the École de Paris or the School of Paris, international artists congregated in the vibrant neighbourhood of Montparnasse. Similar to La Ruche, another historical artists community in Montparnasse, the Cité Falguière was established during the 19th century as an initiative of French artist and cultural professional Jules-Ernest Bouillot who worked with the sculptor and painter Alexandre Falguière. Bouillot had the idea of building low-cost studios that could be rented to artists with little resources. With this intent, in the 1860s he purchased the land, and in the 1870s the first artist studios of the Cité Falguière were built.
During its 150 years of artistic history, Cité Falguière’s artists studios served as a working and living place to more than a hundred French and international artists. Some renowned names are Amedeo Modigliani, Tsuguharu Foujita, Constantin Brancusi, Chaïm Soutine, and Paul Gauguin. Others are lesser-known artists, including many Russian citizens (Belarusians, and Ukrainians), Polish, Japanese, and also French, Americans, Germans, Norwegians, Swedish, Yugoslavs, Serbians, Belgians, Hungarian, Turkish, Iranian and Cuban. During this important period, known as the École de Paris, the exchange between artists of different nationalities, languages, cultures and religions produced a remarkable diversity of styles and marked the birth of Modernism, one of the most prolific periods in art history.
The most notable residents of Cité Falguière were two Jewish artists from very different cultural backgrounds, Russian-Lithuanian Chaïm Soutine (1893-1943) and Italian Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920). For a period of time, the two artists shared the same atelier space that brought them closer together and provided the opportunity for encouragement and inspirations. This creative exchange resulted in many important works that are now held in the collections of the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Tate Modern in London, among other major museums and private collections across the world.
Known as the École de Paris or the School of Paris, international artists congregated in the vibrant neighbourhood of Montparnasse. Similar to La Ruche, another historical artists community in Montparnasse, the Cité Falguière was established during the 19th century as an initiative of French artist and cultural professional Jules-Ernest Bouillot who worked with the sculptor and painter Alexandre Falguière. Bouillot had the idea of building low-cost studios that could be rented to artists with little resources. With this intent, in the 1860s he purchased the land, and in the 1870s the first artist studios of the Cité Falguière were built.
During its 150 years of artistic history, Cité Falguière’s artists studios served as a working and living place to more than a hundred French and international artists. Some renowned names are Amedeo Modigliani, Tsuguharu Foujita, Constantin Brancusi, Chaïm Soutine, and Paul Gauguin. Others are lesser-known artists, including many Russian citizens (Belarusians, and Ukrainians), Polish, Japanese, and also French, Americans, Germans, Norwegians, Swedish, Yugoslavs, Serbians, Belgians, Hungarian, Turkish, Iranian and Cuban. During this important period, known as the École de Paris, the exchange between artists of different nationalities, languages, cultures and religions produced a remarkable diversity of styles and marked the birth of Modernism, one of the most prolific periods in art history.
The most notable residents of Cité Falguière were two Jewish artists from very different cultural backgrounds, Russian-Lithuanian Chaïm Soutine (1893-1943) and Italian Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920). For a period of time, the two artists shared the same atelier space that brought them closer together and provided the opportunity for encouragement and inspirations. This creative exchange resulted in many important works that are now held in the collections of the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Tate Modern in London, among other major museums and private collections across the world.
Reconstructed view of Cité Falguière based on Soutine's paintings (1914-16) featuring Atelier 11 and Atelier 13 (now destroyed)
The pair of landscapes are remarkable records of a uniquely important place and time, not only for Soutine, but for his contemporaries and the subsequent generations who have drawn inspiration from the Montparnasse group. These paintings document an extraordinary historical moment when revolution – both political and artistic – was in the air. - Sotheby's Catalogue Note
Urban renewal of Paris began in the 1960s. Although many artists and community members tried to prevent the destruction of Cité Falguière, the majority of artist studios were gradually destroyed to give way to residential buildings. Some were converted into private apartments, thus losing their artistic purpose and historical meaning. Since the 1980s, Jacques Mauve, a local pharmacist and an active community member, has continued to fight for the preservation of Cité Falguière. He chaired the Cité Falguière Association and regularly presented to ministries in order to obtain recognition of cultural heritage. Together with the artists, he conducted research and created exhibitions about Cité Falguière, leaving an important archive. See some images of Cité Falguière throughout the years from the Jacques Mauve's archive:
From Ecole de Paris to Contemporary Creation
From 1979 to 2021, a painter of Serbo-Russian origin, Mira Maodus, worked and lived at 11 Cité Falguière. The last remaining artist of the historical artist community of Cité Falguière she was a true guardian angel upholding the original purpose of the atelier as a place for artistic creation. One of the original members of the Cité Falguière Association, Mira Maodus remains its honorary member.
Atelier 11 Today
Today the only testament to the history of the Cité Falguière is Atelier 11 - the last surviving artist studio of a once vibrant artistic community. A historic place built by artists for artists, for over 150 years Cité Falguière was maintained and supported solely by arts workers themselves. Not protected by the government, Atelier 11 is still owned by the members of the cultural community and operated by the network of artists and cultural professionals, as part of L'AiR Arts and Cité Falguière Associations. Although always privately owned, Atelier 11's heritage must be understood as belonging to humanity, regardless of which individual or institution has custody of the property. As a cultural artifact of its time, it must be kept preserved for future generations. Therefore, since 2021, together with the new ownership, the Associations have initiated the cultural heritage project of transitioning Atelier 11 into an International Arts Research Residency. With further support from the local and international funding bodies and partnerships, it will remain an independent community-based space that will continue the Atelier’s artistic legacy within a contemporary culture.