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Oil on cardboard – 9,5 x 7 inch – Unique work

The Sacré-Coeur basilica sits proudly at the top of a hill in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It is truely part of this landscape with the sweet air of a small village happy to welcome many artists.

Let’s start with the painters, the best known, such as Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec, Géricault, Renoir, Van Gogh, then Picasso, Modigliani, Miró, Kees van Dongen attended the cafes and workshops of the hill. The Montmartre Museum pays tribute to them regularly. I discovered Kees van Dongen there a few years ago.

What remains today? The Halle Saint-Pierre has taken over in terms of artistic space and the Place du Tertre, near the Sacré-Coeur, still brings together drawers ready, for a fee, to draw your portrait.

As you stroll along its cobbled streets, you will recognize here and there images from the famous film The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain. You can also admire its vines. And yes, every year the harvest is the subject of a party to celebrate its Clos Montmartre wine. Other vestiges of the district, two mills resist the spirit of the times: the Radet mill and the Galette mill. Not far away, giving them unfair competition, the Moulin-Rouge! But that’s another story for another painting.

The Sacré-Coeur basilica, built in the 19th century, is special. I visited it a very short time ago actually. Outwardly its whiteness evokes purity. It is dedicated to the heart of Christ and houses the largest mosaic in France (480 m²). On its forecourt, the panoramic view of Paris is breathless. On a clear day, take out your camera to immortalize one of the most beautiful capitals in the world, as it seems!

I have two very personal memories of the Butte Montmartre.
The first with my parents on the occasion of my birthday, about thirty years ago. We had dined in a restaurant. Then we took a walk on the Place du Tertre. My father wanted to offer me my portrait by a portraitist and I refused. I still regret it today, as I write this confession. Back then, I could neither draw nor paint.
The second with a couple of friends and my daughter as a child we had dinner at a restaurant and couldn’t leave because a storm had erupted during dessert and water was pouring down the sidewalks, overflowing everywhere .
Memories memories …