Paris, France -Rue de la Grande Chaumière. A mythical  street in the mythical Montparnasse neighborhood of Paris. And a haunt of artists past and present: the Japanese-born Fujita settled into a hotel on this street before painting his famous cats. Modigliani used to live down the street and would stop in at the hotel to set up his studio on the top floor. Next door was Chez Charlotte where Fujita, Paul Gauguin, Zadkine and Mucha were all regulars. Picasso lived nearby. Two great art academies were located on the street: the Colarossi Academy and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, which is still going strong today nearly 120 years after its beginnings. 

Shops selling paints and artists material abounded in the neighborhood and two of them remain to this day. As do artist’s studios peppered around the neighborhood. And the aforementioned hotel, a hotel for at least a century,  is today the Hôtel des Académies et des Arts and the iconic 4-star boutique hotel reflects the heart, soul and heritage of the neighborhood. From the top floors you can look out over the glassed-in studios of the Académie de la Grande Chaumière.

Left: The art-oriented library of the Hôtel des Académies et des Arts in Montparnasse. Photo ©Benoit Linero, courtesy Hôtel des Académies et des Arts. Handout via The Gourmet Gazette. Right: The studio for budding artists in the Hôtel des Académies et des Arts in Montparnasse. Photo ©Benoit Linero, courtesy Hôtel des Académies et des Arts. Handout via The Gourmet Gazette

Rooms are comfortable and simple, decorated in raw materials. Sketches and paintings are placed on long shelves. Budding artists can dream into the night sky of Montparnasse. The hotel provides art materials and a studio area where you can try your hand. Visiting artists and students are welcome and introductory and advanced courses in the applied arts are organized in conjunction with the Académie. Or you can pick up a fine art book in the library and enjoy a good artistic read. Some rooms and areas of the hotel are painted with eye-catching frescoes by contemporary artist Franck Lebraly.

The hotel also hosts exhibitions and travelers can purchase works of art from the hotel’s living gallery for contemporary painters, ceramists, drawers or sculptors. The current exhibit showcases the intriguing drawings and paintings of the contemporary French artist Héléna Soubeyrand who is also an actress but continues to work in her first medium: illustration. Creating drawings, acrylic paintings, ink and colorful eye-catching works, she also does ambidextrous drawings, a technique demonstrated in the exhibition. This show is on at the hotel until April 9th. The Hôtel des Académies et des Arts is part of the Adresses Hôtels group of boutique themed hotels. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette. http://hoteldesacademies.fr/en#

Hôtel des Académies et des Arts, 15 rue de la Grande Chaumière, 75006 Paris. Tel: + 33 (1) 43 26 66 44