Rue Lepic is an ancient road in the commune 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 the

18th arrondissement The 18th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of Paris, the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''dix-huitième''. The arrondis ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, climbing the hill of Montmartre from the

boulevard de Clichy The Boulevard de Clichy () is a famous street of Paris, which lends its name to the Place de Clichy, resulted from the fusion, in 1864, of the roads that paralleled the Wall of the Farmers-General, both inside and out. It extends from the Place de ...

to the

place Jean-Baptiste-Clément Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** Often ...

It is an ancient road resulting of rectification and re-arrangement of several dirt-roads leading to the Blanche barrier (

Place Blanche Place Blanche in Paris, France is one of the small plazas along the Boulevard de Clichy, which runs between the 9th arrondissement of Paris, 9th and 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissements (Parisian districts) and leads into Montmartre. I ...

), starting life as ''Chemin-neuf'' (Le ''chemin-vieux'' was rue de Ravignan). In 1852 it was renamed rue de lEmpereur'', and renamed again in 1864, after the General

Louis Lepic Général de division Louis, Comte Lepic (September 20, 1765 Montpellier – January 7, 1827 Andrésy) was a French cavalry commander of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He eventually rose to the rank of ''général de division'' ...

(1765-1827). *

Notable addresses

* At n°15, brasserie Café des 2 Moulins where the film ''

Amélie ''Amélie'' (also known as ''Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain''; ; en, The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain, italic=yes) is a 2001 French-language romantic comedy film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Written by Jeunet with Guillaume L ...

'' was set. * At n°25, in 1910, the cabaret ''La Vache Enragée'' was based here. * At n°50, poet

Jehan Rictus Jehan Rictus (21 September 1867 – 6 November 1933) was a French poet. He was born Gabriel Randon in Boulogne-sur-Mer. In the 1900s, he legally changed his name to his mother's name Randon de Saint-Amand. After an unhappy childhood and poor begi ...

lived at this address for over a decade. * At n°53, resided Jean-Baptiste Clément (singer and prominent in Paris Commune) from 1880 to 1891. He then moved to n°112. * At n°54, lived

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, inclu ...

and his brother Théo, on the third floor, from 1886 to 1888; Art dealer Alphonse Portier, lived on the first floor for several years -

Armand Guillaumin Armand Guillaumin (; February 16, 1841 – June 26, 1927) was a French impressionist painter and lithographer. Biography Early years Born Jean-Baptiste Armand Guillaumin in Paris, he worked at his uncle's lingerie shop while attending eveni ...

had consigned some of his paintings to him in 1887. * At n°56, the

Vandoren Vandoren is a manufacturer of mouthpieces, reeds, and accessories for the clarinet and saxophone families. History Vandoren was founded in 1905 by Eugène Van Doren (1873-1940), a clarinetist for the Paris Opera. The original location was event ...

clarinet and saxophone reed manufacturer. Their premium reed brand is named after this address. * At n°59, from 1873-1891, lived the painter , in a house with an extensive garden; also lived the painter

Charles Léandre Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, in 1910; former site of ''Moulin de la Fontaine-Saint-Denis''. * At n°64, once lived satirical cartoonist Forain in 1875. * At n°65, adjacent to avenue Junot, is site of the ''Moulin-Neuf'' (1741). * At n°72, former workshop of

Félix Ziem Félix Ziem (26 February 1821 – 10 November 1911) was a French painter in the style of the Barbizon School, who also produced some Orientalist works. Biography He was born Félix-Francois Georges Philibert Ziem in Beaune in the Côte-d' ...

. * At n°73, site of the ''Moulin-Vieux'', which was demolished in 1860. * At n°77, '' Moulin de la Galette'' and ''Moulin le Radet''. * At n°85 to 87, ''Moulin de la Petite-Tour'' construction dating from 1647. * At n°87, once lived

Willette Adolphe Léon Willette (30 July 1857, Châlons-sur-Marne4 February 1926, Paris) was a French painter, illustrator, caricaturist, and lithographer, as well as an architect of the famous Moulin Rouge cabaret. Willette ran as an " anti-semitic" ...

. * At n°89 to 93, ''Moulin de la Vieille-Tour'', built in 1623. * At n°95 to 99, site of the ''Moulin-du-Palais'', built in 1640. * At n°98,

Louis-Ferdinand Céline Louis Ferdinand Auguste Destouches (27 May 1894 – 1 July 1961), better known by the pen name Louis-Ferdinand Céline ( , ) was a French novelist, polemicist and physician. His first novel ''Journey to the End of the Night'' (1932) won the ''Pri ...

resided. * At n°100, Austrian doctor

David Gruby David Gruby (20 August 1810 – 14 November 1898) was a Hungarian physician born in the village of Kis-Kér (now Bačko Dobro Polje, Serbia) to a Jewish farmer.Geoffrey Clough Ainsworth, ''Introduction to the History of Medical and Veterinary Myco ...

built an observatory on the roof of the building in 1860. * Au n°102, rough site of ''Moulin de la Grande-Tour'', a tower constructed in stone which was taken down before the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. * At n°112, resided Jean-Baptiste Clément in 1891.

In history

Painter and engraver Eugène Delâtre lived and worked on rue Lepic. He successively occupied addresses n°92, n°87, n°97, and also n°102. Louis Renault built his first car in 1898, calling his car the ''Voiturette''. On December 24, 1898, he won a bet with his friends that his invention was capable of driving up the slope of Rue Lepic. As well as winning the bet, Renault received 12 definite orders for the vehicle. On 7 September 1960, Fernand and

Jackie Sardou Jackie Sardou (7 April 1919 – 2 April 1998) was a French actress. Personal life She was born Jacqueline Labbé in Paris, and married Fernand Sardou, a singer. She was the mother of singer Michel Sardou; and grandmother of author Romain Sardou ...

opened their cabaret ''Chez Fernand Sardou'' on the road in place of ''cabaret Belzébuth'' next to the residence of Utrillo. The cabaret became a preferred meeting place and played to a full house every night.

Michel Sardou Michel Charles Sardou (; born 26 January 1947) is a French singer and occasional actor. He is known not only for his love songs ("La maladie d'amour", "Je vais t'aimer"), but also for songs dealing with various social and political issues, su ...

had his professional début there, firstly as a server. In the

Claude Autant-Lara Claude Autant-Lara (; 5 August 1901 – 5 February 2000) was a French film director and later Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Biography Born at Luzarches in Val-d'Oise, Autant-Lara was educated in France and at London's Mill Hill Sc ...

film, '' La Traversée de Paris'' (1956), "Martin" (played by

André Bourvil André Robert Raimbourg (; 27 July 1917 – 23 September 1970), better known as André Bourvil (), and mononymously as Bourvil, was a French actor and singer best known for his roles in comedy films, most notably in his collaboration with Loui ...

) et "Grandgil" (played by

Jean Gabin Jean Gabin (; 17 May 190415 November 1976) was a French actor and singer. Considered a key figure in French cinema, he starred in several classic films including ''Pépé le Moko'' (1937), ''La grande illusion'' (1937), ''Le Quai des brumes'' ( ...

) were pictured in this road during the

German occupation of France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

transporting a jointed pig destined for the black market.

Yves Montand Ivo Livi (), better known as Yves Montand (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), was an Italian-French actor and singer. Early life Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, to Giovanni Livi, a broom manufacturer, Ivo held strong ...

dedicated to this road the song "Rue Lepic"Video
of "Rue Lepic" on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

in the album ''

'' (1974).

Sources and references

* ''Dictionnaire historique des rues de Paris'' * ''Paris Guide 1807'' - Librairie Internationale {{DEFAULTSORT:Lepic Streets in the 18th arrondissement of Paris