Montmartre: The Birthplace of Modern Art

By Phillip Dennis Cate

An entirely fresh study of how, at the end of the nineteenth century, the neighborhood of Montmartre nurtured a vital, innovative and unique community of artists who revolutionized Western art.

After the 1871 Paris Commune, Montmartre played a significant artistic role; its unique geographical, political and social situation attracted independent artists, writers and musicians and allowed them fully to develop their bohemian and revolutionary spirit. Its cabarets, caf s, circus, dancehalls and theatres made Montmartre a popular cultural centre. Drawing on important artworks from the Weisman & Michel Collection and the Mus e de Montmartre, Paris, as well as a wealth of archival photography, maps and prints to illustrate its narrative text, this volume presents up to 180 stunning colour illustrations. It includes works by Auguste Renoir, Pablo Picasso, Suzanne Valadon, Henri Matisse and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and sheds light on central figures that were forgotten by history such as Louis Anquetin and Henri-Gabriel Ibels.

A timeline of key moments and events in Montmartre from 1870-1910, a map of Montmartre showing the locations of studio spaces, residences and cabarets, and a selected bibliography provide important sources of new information for scholars. This book is an invitation to readers to enter that world and begin to explore the intensity and enduring expression of the creative energies of its personalities, who contributed so significantly to the beginnings of modern art.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1913875873
• ISBN13: 9781913875879
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: Giles
• Length: 282 Pages