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Top 15 Historical Facts about La Maison Rose
Originally published by Molli on April 2019 and updated by Charity K on August 2022
If you’ve ever walked around the neighborhood of Montmartre in Paris, you’ve probably stumbled upon La Maison Rose. It’s that really cute pink house nestled on the corner of a winding cobblestoned street, and it is arguably the most photographed house in Montmartre. La Maison Rose translates literally to The Pink House, and it lives up to its name.
La Maison Rose, Paris by Anyul Rivas – WikiCommons
My thoughts when I walked by this place for the first time? First, that it was adorable, and secondly, that I knew there had to be an interesting story behind it! I love learning more about recognizable landmarks in Paris, and La Maison Rose is no exception.
Are you interested in learning more? Keep reading to discover 10 historical facts about La Maison Rose, with me!
La Maison Rose
2 Rue de l’Abreuvoir, 75018 Paris
Open: Monday 12pm-11:30pm, Thursday 6pm-11:30pm, Friday-Sunday 11am-11:30pm
1. La Maison Rose has been serving up coffee for over 100 years
La rue des Saules, 1911 by Bibliothèque nationale de France – WikiCommons
La Maison Rose has been around for quite a while! I’m talking before Montmartre was even a part of Paris.
Montmartre was a community in and of itself until January 1, 1860. It was then annexed to the city with other communities as a part of Baron Haussmann’s efforts to bring Paris together and make it more organized as a whole.
While these changes were widely challenged by Parisians at the time, they quickly began to appreciate everything that Montmartre had to offer! Cafés, restaurants, cabarets and theatres opened across the new 18th arrondissement, and became a haunt for artists and writers alike. I can totally see why!
La Maison Rose has been open for well over one hundred years, but no one knows the exact date it was built. What is known, however, is that the café has been serving coffee since it’s beginnings, and was also once a boarding house where local writers could eat inexpensively.
As you’ll see, La Maison Rose has always had a close relationship with the writers and artists of Montmartre!
2. But, no one know who the original owners were
The exact date that La Maison Rose opened is unknown, but historians guess that it was somewhere around 1850. There are photos that date back to 1870 and 1887, where you can see a very different, somewhat empty looking Montmartre!
If the date that La Maison Rose was built is a unknown, the question of who the first owners is a complete mystery!
The first owners known to historians were recorded in 1905, but I’ll share more on that later.
3. La Maison Rose wasn’t always pink
La Maison Rose, Paris 2010 – Flickr
When La Maison Rose was purchased in 1905 by Laure Germaine and husband Ramon Pichot Girones, the building was your average beige color. Germaine was always an artistic person, and was once Picasso’s muse and lover. As rumours have it she decided to paint the building pink after a trip to Barcelona where the colours inspired her. They added the words La Maison Rose déjeuners & diners (lunches and dinners) written in green, with shutters painted in the same shade to match.
Although La Maison Rose was purchased by Germaine and her husband in 1905, by examining photos taken at the time, it seems that the café was not remodelled until 1920. In fact, a postcard from 1910 shows La Maison Rose in a sad condition, with dirt caking the facade and no signs that is is a restaurant.
Once it was remodelled, the artsy establishment blended right into Montmartre, which was known as an artists haven in Paris throughout the 19th and 20th centuries!
4. But, it’s architecture hasn’t changed since 1910
La Maison Rose in 2004 by july70 – WikiCommons
It can sometimes seem that Paris is a city that is always changing, yet remains the same. While there have been plenty of construction of improvements in Montmartre, the integrity of the city as it was in the 19th century remains.
La Maison Rose has always existed on the corner of rue de l’Abreuvoir and rue des Saules, and it’s structure has not changed a bit since then.
In the early 1930s, the house was nearly knocked down due to a new construction project put into place in Montmartre, but La Maison Rose was saved, probably due to the insistence of Germaine.
The café and restaurant was there to stay, and this was confirmed after the building was attached to the next door Art Deco villa on rue des Saules.
5. Salvador Dali’s mentor is a former owner
Salvador Dalí in 1939 by Carl Van Vechten – WikiCommons
I’ve briefly mentioned La Maison Rose’s first known owners, Laure Germaine and Ramon Pichot.
One thing that I found really interesting about Pichot is that he was a famous Spanish painter, who nurtured a 10 year old Salvador Dali, when he was just beginning to paint.
Pichot is very well-known in his native Catalona, Spain. Pichot was also known to have regularly spent time in Cadaquès, where he met Dali’s family. He quickly became like a mentor to Dali, when he was just beginning his artistic journey.
Something that always shocks and amazes me when learning about painters, artists, and writers in the 19th and 20th century is that they all seemed to know one another. To be an artist in this time period was to be a part of a very tight-knit community.
But, as you’ll find out if you keep reading, sometimes disagreements and disputes can break out among the community, and end in tragedy.
6. Picasso and La Maison Rose
Modigliani, Picasso and André Salmon in Paris 1916 by Amedeo Modigliani – WikiCommons
Drumroll please…finally, the story of Laure Germaine and Ramon Pichot!
The couple is quite an interesting one, as Germaine was the former love interest of Picasso’s best friend, Carlos Casagemas. The pair met in Spain and soon became close friends who began to travel to Paris together. It was in Paris that Picasso and Casagemas met Germaine.
Casagemas quickly falls in love with Germaine, but she is not interested in him as she is already married to Pichot. Casagemas becomes obsessive, and Germaine constantly had to fight off advances from him. On February 17, 1901, at the cafe L’Hippodrome, on boulevard de Clichy, Casagemas commits suicide in front of the guests (including Germaine) he invited. This tragic event inspired Pablo Picasso and his painting “The Death of Casagemas” (1901) meant to celebrate his friend’s life.
The death of Casagemas, 1901 – Pablo Picasso (Wikiart – Public domain US)
Picasso was not there at the time, and he felt so guilty that he was not there to stop his friend, that he becomes severely depressed. Picasso fans will recognize this phase in his life as “The Blue Period.”
After Casagemas’ death, visiting Germaine is like a comfort to Picasso. Eventually, Germaine becomes a muse for Picasso. Even in their old age, the two remain close friends, and Picasso was often found at La Maison Rose!
7. La Maison Rose was once frequented by many artists
Albert Camus – WikiCommons
Picasso wasn’t the only artist to visit La Maison Rose on a regular basis.
Albert Camus, Suzanne Valadon, and Maurice Utrillo are just a few of the writers and painters who could be found at La Maison Rose, and Utrillo in particular has a special relationship with the restaurant & café.
Today, Montmartre is more of a tourist destination than an artists haven, but there are still plenty of places worth checking out if art is your thing. There are quite a few museums, and one can’t forget the Place du Tertre located just next to the Sacré Coeur cathedral, where you’ll find dozens of artists selling their goods in the square.
8. Montmartre has been immortalized by painters
Room inside Suzanne Valadon & Maurice Utrillo’s atelier located not far from La Maison Rose by Yann Caradec – WikiCommons
Montmartre itself has been represented by artists throughout the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.
Heavyweights such as Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Max Jacob, Guillaume Apollinaire, Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Suzanne Valadon, and Maurice Utrillo have all spent time in the 18th arrondissement and have brought it to life with their pens or their paintbrushes!
This of course includes interpretations of La Maison Rose. Maurice Utrillo and Bernard Buffet in particular produced paintings of the restaurant & café.
9. La Maison Rose inspired a famous painting by Maurice Utrillo
Maurice Utrillo, by Suzanne Valadon – WikiCommons
A very popular artwork of la Maison Rose was painted by Maurice Utrillo around 1916. What made his painting famous back in time was not the subject of the painting in particular, but because it was sold at a very high price during an auction.
Interesting fact about Maurice Utrillo: among all the artists that lived in Montmartre, he was one of the only famous painters to be born there. A true local!
10. In 1970 La Maison Rose was repainted white
When Germaine sadly died of syphilis in 1948, the restaurant was bought by Béatrice Miolano. She managed La Maison Rose for a few months with her son, Jean, before entrusting it to a women known as “Toutoune”.
Toutoune had La Maison Rose for 25 years, and under its new management the restaurant morphed into a tourist trap, and locals stopped visiting.
In 1970, La Maison Rose was even painted white! The name was stripped from the side of the building, the simple word of RESTAURANT was painted on, and La Maison Rose remained only in small letters over the door.
Today, the restaurant is owned by Laurence Miolano, Béatrice’s granddaughter. La Maison Rose reopened after renovations and improvements in early 2018. Laurence prides herself on bringing the local spirit back to the restaurant, and hopes to draw locals in!
Conclusion
La Maison Rose at night by Shadowgate – WikiCommons
The next time you take a wander through Montmartre, and you pass by La Maison Rose, I hope you think of everything you’ve just learned from this article!
Montmartre is one of my favorite parts of the city, and I love sharing everything I know with you all here.
Are you interested in exploring Montmartre with one of our guides? Click here to learn more about our walking tours!
11. La Maison Rose began in 1908
Photo by Wikimedia Commons – Wikimedia
Later in life, the history of how La Maison Rose began. In 1908, Pichot married Germaine Gargallo, the figure of Montmartre and a model for certain painters. After a trip to Spain, Germaine decided to paint the outside walls pink and opened La Maison Rose. Their restaurant welcomed regularly all the residents of the Bateau Lavoir, and their other artist’s friends.
12. La Maison Rose is also known as The Pink House
Photo by Wikimedia Commons – Wikimedia
Affectionately known as “The Pink House”. La Maison Rose is in the Montmarte district of Paris. It is a pleasantly pink restaurant lauded for its facade and fascinating history as a once a popular haunt frequented by some of Paris’ greatest artists – including Pablo Picasso.
13. A Village separate from Paris with windmills on the hilltop
Montmarte was a village separate from Paris with windmills, homes, and vineyards gracing its picturesque hilltop. Built around 1850, the home that would go on to house La Maison Rose was bought by Germaine Pichot around the turn of the century. The wife of the artist of Catalan painter Ramon Pichot and a former model of Picasso, Germaine was a magnetic figure who attracted many of the city’s creative crowd.
14. Germaine was the Owner of La Maison Rose
Photo by Wikimedia Commons – Wikimedia
Germaine owned La Maison Rose until her death in 1948. He was friends with Dali and Picasso who used to visit him in the little house which was also his painting studio.
The restaurant passed down through the hands of different Montmarte locals who remained faithful to the establishment’s origins as a neighborhood cafe. Eventually, it was purchased by Laurence Miolano, the grandchild of its former owner Beatrice, who has since restored the restaurant to its former glory.
15. There was a new team led by Beatrice’s granddaughter
La Maison Rose re-opened in December 2017, with a new team and a new project, led by the granddaughter of Beatrice. The philosophy of La Maison Rose is inspired by the history of the Montmartre village and the family history of the owners who were of French and Italian origin
The new team wants to gather the local community and curious travelers around a good neighborhood table, welcoming, creative and eco-responsible.
However, the history of La Maison Rose before and during the Second World War is a mystery. Some photos seem to indicate that it was a cabaret for a few years.
