La Ruche (literally the beehive) is an artist's residence in Montparnasse Quarter of Paris, France. private photo File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Montparnasse Tower, which at 209m was the tallest building in Western Europe when it was built. ... The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. ...

Located in Montparnasse’s "Passage Dantzig," in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, La Ruche was an old three-storey circular structure that got its name because it looked more like a large beehive than any dwelling for humans. Originally a temporary building designed by Gustave Eiffel for use as a wine rotunda at the Great Exposition of 1900, the structure was dismantled and re-erected as low-cost studios for artists by Alfred Boucher (1850–1934), a fireman and sculptor, who wanted to help young artists by providing them with shared models and with an exhibition space open to all residents. As well as to artists, La Ruche became a home to the usual array of drunks, misfits, and almost every penniless soul needing a roof over their head. The 15e arrondissement is the most populated of the 20 arrondissements of Paris, France. ... Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (December 15, 1832 – December 27, 1923; French pronunciation in IPA, in English usually pronounced ) was a French structural engineer and architect and a specialist of metallic structures. ... The Exposition Universelle of 1900 was a worlds fair held in Paris, France, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate development into the next. ... Alfred Boucher (1850-1934), French sculptor. ...

At La Ruche the rent was dirt cheap; and no one was evicted for non-payment. When hungry, many would wander over to artist Marie Vassilieff's soup kitchen (more gently called her "Cantine") for a meal and conversation with fellow starving artists. The Russian painter Pinchus Kremegne got off the train at the Gare de l'Est with three rubles in his pocket. The only words in French he knew was the phrase "Passage Dantzig"; but that was all he needed to get him there. Mariya Ivanovna Vassiliéva , (February 12, 1884 - May 14, 1957), better known as Marie Vassilieff, was a Russian painter. ... Pinchus Kremegne (1890-1981), was a Belarusian artist, primarily known as a sculptor, painter and lithographer. ... ISO 4217 Code RUB User(s) Russia and self-proclaimed Abkhazia and South Ossetia Inflation 7% Source Rosstat, 2007 Subunit 1/100 kopek (копейка) Symbol руб kopek (копейка) к Plural The language(s) of this currency is of the Slavic languages. ...

In the history of mankind, like Montparnasse itself, few places have ever housed such talent as could be found at La Ruche. At one time or another in those early years of the 20th century, Guillaume Apollinaire, Alexander Archipenko, Ossip Zadkine, Moise Kisling, Marc Chagall, Nina Hamnett, Fernand Léger, Jacques Lipchitz, Pinchus Kremegne, Max Jacob, Blaise Cendrars, Chaim Soutine, Robert Delaunay, Amedeo Modigliani, Constantin Brancusi, Diego Rivera, Marevna and others, called the place home or frequented it. Today, works by some of these desperately poor residents and their close friends sell well, even in the millions of dollars. Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire (August 26, 1880 – November 9, 1918) was a poet, writer, and art critic. ... Alexander Porfiryevich Archipenko (1887 - 1964) was a U.S. (Russian-born) sculptor. ... Ossip Zadkine (July 14, 1890 – November 25, 1967) was an Russian Jewish artist and sculptor. ... Moise Kisling (January 22, 1891 - April 29, 1953) was a Polish painter. ... Marc Chagall as photographed in 1941 by Carl Van Vechten. ... Nina Hamnett (February 14, 1890 - December 16, 1956) was an artist and writer, known as the Queen of Bohemia. ... Still Life with a Beer Mug, 1921. ... Birth of the Muses, bronze, 1944-1950. ... Pinchus Kremegne (1890-1981), was a Belarusian artist, primarily known as a sculptor, painter and lithographer. ... In 1915, Max Jacob and Pablo Picasso Max Jacob (July 12, 1876 – March 5, 1944) was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic. ... Frédéric Louis Sauser (September 1, 1887 – January 21, 1961), better known as Blaise Cendrars, was a Swiss novelist and poet naturalized French in 1916. ... Chaim Soutine (1893 – August 9, 1943) was an expressionist painter. ... 1911. ... Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (July 12, 1884 – January 24, 1920) was an Italian artist, practicing both painting and sculpture, who pursued his career for the most part in France. ... Constantin Brancusi Constantin Brancusi (February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957, originally Constantin BrâncuÅŸi IPA: ), was a Romanian sculptor, born in HobiÅ£a, Gorj, near Târgu Jiu, where he placed his sculptural ensemble with The Table of Silence, The Gate of the Kiss and The Endless Column. ... Diego Rivera (December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957, born Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez in Guanajuato, Gto. ... Marie Vorobieff-Stebelska (1892 in Cheboksary, Russia - 4 May 1984 in London, Great Britain) – the nickname Marevna reputedly having been given her by Maxim Gorky after a Russian fairy sea princess – was a cubist painter who is internationally noted for convincingly combining elements of cubism (called by her Dimensionalism) with...

La Ruche went into decline during World War II; and by the time of the 1968 real estate boom, it was threatened with demolition by developers. However, with the support of luminaries such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Alexander Calder, Jean Renoir, and René Char, new management with a preservation mission took over in 1971, turning it into a collection of working studios. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (June 21, 1905 – April 15, 1980), normally known simply as Jean-Paul Sartre (pronounced: ), was a French existentialist philosopher and pioneer, dramatist and screenwriter, novelist and critic. ... For other persons named Alexander Calder, see Alexander Calder (disambiguation). ... Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (September 15, 1894 – February 12, 1979), born in the Montmartre Quarter of Paris, France was a film director. ... René Char (1907 - 1988) René Char (June 14, 1907 - February 19, 1988) was a 20th century poet. ...

Its interior is not open to the general public, although the exterior of La Ruche alone is worth a visit. Paintings, sculptures, photographs from its heyday and films showing some of its residents may be viewed at the Musée du Montparnasse, 21 av du Maine.

External links

• Alfred Boucher – founder of "La Ruche"
• Alfred Boucher's studio at "La Ruche"
• Centenary of La Ruche in 2003
• Close up views
• "Another Wild-Goose Chase – No Sign of the 'Beehive'" (Travel diary with photographs)
• Guillaume, "Françoise and Modigliani at La Ruche – Adventures In Montparnasse" (Travel diary with photographs)

See also

Le Bateau-Lavoir, in Montmartre, Paris. Le Bateau-Lavoir was a squalid block of buildings in Montmartre, Paris situated at 13 Rue Ravignan (Place Emile Goudeau). ... Montmartre seen from the centre Georges Pompidou (1897), a painting by Camille Pissarro of the boulevard that led to Montmartre as seen from his hotel room. ...