The Moulin de la Galette is a

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some ...

and associated businesses situated near the top of the district of

Montmartre Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...

in Paris. Since the 17th century the windmill has been known for more than just its milling capabilities. Nineteenth-century owners and millers, the Debray family, made a brown bread,

galette Galette (from the Norman word ''gale'', meaning "flat cake") is a term used in French cuisine to designate various types of flat round or freeform crusty cakes, or, in the case of a Breton galette (french: Galette bretonne ; br, Krampouezhenn g ...

, which became popular and thus the name of the windmill and its businesses, which have included a famous guinguette and restaurant. In the 19th century, Le Moulin de la Galette represented diversion for Parisians seeking entertainment, a glass of wine and bread made from flour ground by the windmill. Artists, such as

Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Re ...

van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

, and

Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( , ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but then in the Danish West Indies). H ...

have immortalized Le Moulin de la Galette; likely the most notable was Renoir's festive painting, ''

Bal du moulin de la Galette ''Bal du moulin de la Galette'' (commonly known as ''Dance at Le moulin de la Galette'') is an 1876 painting by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It is housed at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and is one of Impressionism's most celebrated masterpi ...

''.

Windmill

France-Paris-Moulin de la galette-2005-12-08

The windmill Moulin de la Galette, also known as Blute-fin, was built in 1622. The name Blute-fin comes from the French verb ''bluter'' which means sifting flour for the separation from bran. The Debray family acquired the two mills in 1809 for producing flour, the Blute-fin and the Radet, built in 1717. But it was also used to pressurize the harvest or grind materials needed for manufacturing. An association Friends of Old Montmartre saved it from destruction in 1915. In 1924, its owner moved the windmill to the corner of Girardon and Lepic streets. It was restored in 1978, but is not running. The windmill has been classified as a

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

since 1958. Moulin de la Galette

Sieges in 1814 and 1870

At the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1814, during the siege of Paris three Debray men lost their lives defending the windmill against Cossacks; the miller was killed and nailed to the wings of the windmill. During the Franco-Prussian War Montmartre was attacked by 20,000 Prussian soldiers. During the siege, Pierre-Charles Debray was killed and nailed to the wings of the windmill. A mass grave for those killed during the siege was made just steps away from the Moulin de la Galette.

Commercial expansion

The mill was turned into a by the surviving son of the miller killed during the siege of Paris in 1814. Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Le Moulin de la Galette

The current name Moulin de la Galette is based upon ''

'', a small brown bread that the Debray millers, who owned the mill in the 19th century, made and sold with a glass of milk. The tasty bread became so popular that it later became the name of the windmill. In 1830, they replaced milk with wine (especially the local Montmartre wine) and the windmill became a cabaret. Parisians made their way to Montmartre to enjoy "the simple pleasures" of the countryside with a glass of wine, freshly baked bread and a terrace view of Paris and the Seine below. In 1833, one of the Debrays decided to open an area for dancing, dedicated to the Greek muse

Terpsichore In Greek mythology, Terpsichore (; grc-gre, Τερψιχόρη, "delight in dancing") is one of the nine Muses and goddess of dance and chorus. She lends her name to the word "terpsichorean" which means "of or relating to dance". Appearance ...

. His flair for dancing and enthusiasm attracted patrons to the dancing hall and it became a success. Author

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

wrote in 1876, "We rushed off into the countryside to celebrate the joy of not having to listen to any more talk about politics," which often meant reflection of France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. Montmartre, attainable by a train ride or a one-hour walk, was still a village with orchards, shops and two remaining windmills. Moulin de la Galette foto

Le Moulin de la Galette - Paris, France - April 21, 2011

As the nearby fields were replaced with housing and factories, Nicholas Charles Debray sought commercial opportunities to remain a going concern. One of the windmills was turned into a viewing tower and a dance hall was opened adjacently. People came to the relaxed, popular Moulin de la Galette for entertainment and dancing. Over its history, the building has experienced a wide range of uses: open-air cafe, music-hall, television studios and restaurant. It is now a private property. The windmill Radet, however, marks the entrance to a bistro named Le Moulin de la Galette.

Gallery

File:Moulin de la Galette BW.jpg, Moulin de la Galette black and white File:Moulin de la Galette BW 2.jpg File:Moulin de la Galette BW 3.jpg

The windmill in art

The area has been depicted by artists such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir,

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist and illustrator whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of Paris in th ...

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

Ramon Casas Ramon Casas i Carbó (; 4 January 1866 – 29 February 1932) was a Catalan artist. Living through a turbulent time in the history of his native Barcelona, he was known as a portraitist, sketching and painting the intellectual, economic, and ...

, Paul François Quinsac,

Kees van Dongen Cornelis Theodorus Maria "Kees" van Dongen (26 January 1877 – 28 May 1968) was a Dutch-French painter who was one of the leading Fauves. Van Dongen's early work was influenced by the Hague School and symbolism and it evolved gradually into a r ...

and

Maurice Utrillo Maurice Utrillo (), born Maurice Valadon; 26 December 1883 – 5 November 1955), was a French painter of the School of Paris who specialized in cityscapes. Born in the Montmartre quarter of Paris, France, Utrillo is one of the few famous pain ...

. File:Vincent Willem van Gogh 066.jpg,

, '' Le Moulin de la Galette'' 1886 File:Vincent van Gogh - Windmills on Montmartre - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Le Moulin de Blute-Fin'' (1886) from the '' Le Moulin de la Galette'' and ''

'' series' File:Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec 025.jpg,

, ''Au bal du moulin de la Galette'' 1889

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moulin De La Galette Post mills in France Buildings and structures in the 18th arrondissement of Paris Monuments historiques of Paris Windmills completed in 1622 Montmartre Grinding mills in France 1622 establishments in France Tourist attractions in Paris