The Historical Lapin Agile

So, is the Lapin Agile a real place? Believe it or not, it is.

The Lapin Agile was probably the most popular of the several gathering places in Montmartre, Paris. It is mentioned in connection with Picasso and his circle in many sources describing those exhilarating times. Formerly named Cabaret des Assassins, its name was changed according to a common practice in Paris at the time – that of making phonetic puns for the names of establishments. The regular clientele at Assassins began to refer to the place as Le Lapin Agile (the agile rabbit), which described the painting over the door by artist André Gill – as in “le lapin á Gill” (Gill’s rabbit) or even “lá a peint A. Gill” (A. Gill painted here).

The owner Père Frédé was the former owner of a small literary café called Zut. With his guitar and distinctive beard, he was a colorful eccentric known to all the artists and intellectuals. The Lapin was a building swathed in greenery, with a bar, a dining room, a terrace, and a profusion of animals The interior was dark, cleaned and polished every day by Frédé’ s wife, Berthe la Bourguignonne. From time to time, Frédé would tune his guitar and announce an artistic evening. All present would sing or recite poetry. Several artists had painted or hung sculptures on the walls, including Picasso who had done a number of nude figures with a single blue brush stroke and a portrait of his friend Jaime Sabartès.