Friday, October 29, 2010

Montmartre

Montmartre is one of my favorite neighborhoods of Paris. Since it's on the outskirts of Paris, it managed to escape the attentions of Baron Haussman, the Robert Moses of the 19th century, responsible for the homogeneity of many arrondissements. Montmartre became the refuge of those possessing a more down at heels aesthetic than those of the buttoned up, if grand, boulevards. It still retains the pre-Napoleonic charm of winding, cobblestone streets with their rich, mismatched jumble of buildings that lean against each other in long-established camaraderie. It's a tiny neighborhood, but all the streets are so twisty and hilly with surprises (a vineyard!) around so many corners, that you can easily spend a whole day exploring it.




This is the parenthetically aforementioned vineyard. Sadly, it wasn't open the day I visited, so I had to draw it from behind the fence. It looked like a little Rackham cottage up on a hill. I think I might have to make it into a wine label at some point, though, to appease the literalist in me.



I didn't get to finish this drawing of Sacre Coeur, glowing in the light of the late afternoon, but maybe I like it better this way? It seems to slowly grow out of the cloudy page (or screen), and in a moment, the mist will obscure it again and it will just be a memory of Paris.



Also, you can check out my friend and fellow Dalverian Julia's drawings of Montmartre.

2 comments:

PeterParis said...

Happy you visited my blog, so I could find yours! I went throught all your illustrations as from Dionysis to Montmartre! Bravo! I would be happy if some real artists could invade Place de Tertre instead of the tourist painters you (mostly) find today! I recognised all your Montmartre streets and buildings, but this time there was a personal touch! Nice!!!

Unknown said...

Thanks, Peter! I love your blog and am in complete awe of your encyclopedic knowledge of Paris.
You notice I don't have any Place de Tertre drawings? Those artists were all giving me the stinkeye, so I moved along!