Le Select is a Parisian

brasserie In France, Flanders, and the Francophone world, a brasserie () is a type of French restaurant with a relaxed setting, which serves dishes and other meals. The word ''brasserie'' is French for "brewery" and, by extension, "the brewing busine ...

founded in 1923 in the 6th arrondissement at 99 Boulevard

Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. It is split betwee ...

, in the Notre-Dame-des-Champs neighborhood. It was one of the more prominent meeting places of the Parisian intellectuals between the two world wars, with a significant place in the Bohemian Culture of the period.

History

Along with Le Dôme,

La Rotonde ''La Rotonde'' is the official French-language student newspaper at the University of Ottawa. It is the oldest French-language student paper outside of Quebec. The newspaper publishes weekly throughout the fall and winter sessions on regular to ...

Closerie des Lilas The Closerie des Lilas () is a famous Parisian restaurant (or brasserie) located on the Boulevard du Montparnasse in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was opened in 1847 by François Bullier and was a simple brasserie at the beginning. Initial ...

and

La Coupole ''La Coupole'' (), also known as the ''Coupole d'Helfaut-Wizernes'' and originally codenamed ''Bauvorhaben'' 21 ('Building Project 21') or ''Schotterwerk Nordwest'' (Northwest Gravel Works), is a Second World War bunker complex in the Pas-de-Cal ...

, Le Select was one of the cafés for artists and intellectuals that animated the life of Montparnasse, particularly around the Vavin crossroads, which is now the Pablo Picasso plaza. Scott Fitzgerald,

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

, and were regulars. During the

Nazi Occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

, prominent homosexual figures from the artistic milieu such as Serge Lifar,

Jean Marais Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais (11 December 1913 – 8 November 1998), known professionally as Jean Marais (), was a French actor, film director, theatre director, painter, sculptor, visual artist, writer and photographer. He performed in over 100 f ...

, Suzy Solidor, Marlow Moss, and Antoinette Hendrika Nijhoff-Wind frequented it regularly, as well as places like Le Monocle, Chez Jane Stick, and

Le Bœuf sur le toit ''Le Bœuf sur le toit'' (literally "the ox on the roof"), Op. 58 is a short piece for small orchestra by the composer Darius Milhaud, written in 1919–20. Milhaud conceived the piece as incidental music for any one of the comic silent films of C ...

. François Broche et Jean-François Muracciole,
Histoire de la collaboration : 1940-1945
', Tallandier, 2017. Following the Second World War, the cafe was still frequented by what remained of the

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

School of Paris The School of Paris (, ) refers to the French and émigré artists who worked in Paris in the first half of the 20th century. The School of Paris was not a single art movement or institution, but refers to the importance of Paris as a centre o ...

, including Isaac Frenkel, Mane-Katz and others artists.

References

{{coord missing, France 6th arrondissement of Paris Coffeehouses and cafés in Paris Buildings and structures in the 6th arrondissement of Paris 1923 establishments in France