Le Bel-Ami

Have you ever wanted to have a drink in a place that has marked the history of modern painting? A place that influenced one of the most famous painters in the world? So welcome to Bel Ami, a restaurant that Pablo Picasso frequented at the beginning of the last century, under its former name, the Hippodrome, at 128 Boulevard de Clichy.

Have you ever wondered why Picasso had this obsession with blue in his youth? The reason for this famous, obsessive and melancholy period took place here, on the night of February 17, 1901. A night, when one of Picasso's best friends ended his life, Carlos Casagemas. Picasso and his friend settled in Paris, on the hill of Montmartre at the beginning of 1900. An essential place for art at that time, they liked going out, partying and the company of pretty women. Which will be fatal to Casagemas. Indeed, the latter quickly falls in love with Laure "Germaine" Gargallo, a beautiful creature who likes to seduce but who will always refuse Carlos...

Madly in love, seeing Germaine with other men, he quickly sinks into depression and alcohol. And despite Picasso's attempt to help his friend by bringing him back to Malaga, he cannot forget this woman. It was then that Carlos decided to return to Paris alone at the beginning of 1901, and unknowingly caused a dark turning point in the history of art. During a dinner he organized at the Hippodrome with friends, he also invited Germaine. And later that night, he stood up on a chair, gave a speech in French, and took out a pistol which he pointed at Germaine. He fires, but misses his target. Then he turned the gun on himself, pointed it at his temple and pulled the trigger. Back in Paris, Picasso learned the horrible news and fell into a deep depression. He quickly represented this event, in a painting called, "The Death of Casagemas", 1901. It was this traumatic experience that pushed Picasso to begin this period so well known today, the blue period.