Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

La Ruche is a city of artists founded in 1902 by the sculptor Alfred Boucher, based on elements recovered from the 1900 Universal Exhibition: the Bordeaux wine pavilion (metal structure of Gustave Eiffel), the entrance gate of the women's pavilion and the cariatids of the Indonesian pavilion. Located at the 2nd pass of Dantzig in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, it occupied a plot of 4,033 m2 and was designed to accommodate young artists without resources. Its name evokes the intense creative activity of its occupants, compared to bees in a hive.

The Ruche soon became a major artistic home of the 20th century, hosting figures such as Amedeo Modigliani, Chaim Soutine, Marc Chagall, Fernand Léger, Constantin Brâncuși or Ossip Zadkine. In 1905, there were 90 artists and 110 workshops. The venue was organized around a joint workshop where a model was laid, often paid by Boucher. Comparable to the Bateau-Lavoir de Montmartre, she supplanted him after the First World War by her radiation. A 300-seat theatre, located in his garden, saw Louis Jouvet begin and welcomed Marguerite Moreno and Jacques Copeau.

The central octagonal pavilion rises on three floors and houses workshops of about 30 square meters. The facades and roofs were listed as historical monuments in 1972. Today, the Ruche has about 60 workshops occupied by artists tenants, often for life. Although closed to the public in normal times, it visits the Heritage Days or by invitation. Since 2017, an exhibition hall on the ground floor has hosted two varnishes per month.

The Ruche is managed by the Fondation La Ruche-Seydoux, founded in 1985 and recognized as a public utility. A tripartite agreement signed in 2009 between this foundation, the Total Foundation and the Heritage Foundation aims to restore the buildings. Internationally, a reconstruction of the Ruche was carried out in 1981 in Hokuto, Japan, where it still serves as workshops for artists.

The site inspired several works, such as La Ruche vue de la panue de l'atelier (1916) by Pinchus Krémègne or Soutine (1993) by Eduardo Arroyo, a tribute to the artist who resided there. La Ruche remains a symbol of the bohemian and creative life of Montparnasse, marked by its private patronage and its role in the history of modern art.

Future

At present, there are about 60 workshops of all sizes, where many artists still reside, all tenants and most of whom remain there all their lives.
Unlike other artists' cities, the Ruche is no longer open to the public: only residents and rare privileged ones have access to it.

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