Passuth Krisztina – Szücs György – Gosztonyi Ferenc szerk.: Hungarian Fauves from Paris to Nagybánya 1904–1914 (A Magyar Nemzeti Galéria kiadványai 2006/1)
FROM PARIS TO NAGYBÁNYA - PARIS - KRISZTINA PASSUTH: Café Dôme
"In the days, when I arrived in Paris, the district that later became known as Montparnasse was still rather sparsely populated," József Csáky wrote in his recollection of the year 1908 later. 2 "Many foreigners took up residence here because of the proximity of the free academies, such as Delécluse's academy. But back then, life on Montparnasse was still very different from what it is today. " 3 There was another Hungarian visitor, Attila Orbók, who witnessed the changes and the rising importance of the location, describing how, during the 1910s, "the genuine artist society of Paris deserted to the other hill, the Montparnasse, where admittedly there were artists' cafés before, but by now this is where all the branche —painters, musicians, sculptures and writers —hang out." 4 It was in this international quarter that the Hungarians set up their base and, according to György Bölöni's testimony, it all took place fairly early on. "By now, Paris has a Hungarian district, too. It is situated on the Montparnasse, on the hill that rises on the left bank of the Seine, teeming with artists' houses and bohemian taverns. [...] The Hungarian district of Paris, the Montparnasse, is getting more populous. We hear people speak Hungarian on its Boulevards. This was Verlaine's district. And Whistler's. And of many other artists, because this is a proper artists' district. Julian Academy is on one corner; then we have Colarossi and Grande-Chaumière, along with many other arts schools. This is where the young Hungarian painters live. They want to take in as much of Paris' art life as possible. But anxiety soon sets in. They struggle and finally —they give up. They return to Hungary enervated and lacking the will to work. No other country has as many talented painters as we do. Nowhere else there are so many aborted journeys and falls of the mighty," he wrote in 1906. 5 Today's readers may find Bölöni's conclusions, and his negative tone, somewhat extreme. It is clear from what he reveals that by 1906, shortly before the first introduction of the Fauves and the discovery of Gauguin, the Hungarians had already been there, being actively involved in the intellectual life of Paris. For organized involvement, they had the art academies. For a more informal form, they had the cafés, where they spent most part of their days, or nights to be precise. In an unsystematic and carefree manner, they acquired much information and many new concepts in the course of these nights through personal meetings and endless discussions and debates. According to Adolphe Basler, a critic living in Paris, this was like attending a university "without doctrines and course assignments." 6 Although European cafés only reached the height of their popularity between 1900 and 1910, the traditions and the unwritten laws associated with them had begun to emerge already in the 19 th century. Café Dôme was opened in 1896 by the owner, Paul Chambon. Initially it was frequented by American students, who were attracted by the pool tables in the back rooms. By contrast, Leo Stein came here to play poker. 7 The character of the place changed profoundly in 1903, when the German or German-speaking guests from Central and Eastern Europe appeared on the terrace and the inner rooms: Rudolf Levy, Walter Bondy, Wilhelm Uhde, Jules Pascin, Hans Purrmann, Isaac Grünewald, Moïse Kisling, Adolphe Basler, Béla Czóbel, Carl Einstein, Alfred Flechtheim and many others. 8 A quick glance through the list gives the impression that the café had hardly any French clientele and the place was overtaken by foreigners, mainly Germans and later also Swedes. This was obviously not quite true, as it would have meant that the most popular French café would have been visited exclusively by artists of foreign nationality, excluding from this coffee-scented comJózsef Rippl-Rónai: Urban Commotion (Paris Square), 1914 Private Collection munity the home public. In any case, a more or less temporary, constantly changing community emerged throughout the years. 9 In trying to reconstruct the true story from the various recollections, we find that the "real" Café Dôme was founded in 1902-1903 by no more than two or three people. In other words, they (i.e. Rudolf Levy and Walter Bondy) were the ones who turned the already existing Dôme into an intellectual centre. One of the most authentic chroniclers of Dôme, Friedrich Ahlers-Hestermann, recalled that at first sight the café caused deep disappointment, as it was just as rundown as the rest of the Paris cafés of similar class. It was in these stuffy rooms, with sand sprinkled on the floor, that the group of German artists led their daily lives, sitting on worn-out sofas made of leather around tables of brown marble. Around 1902, having just arrived in Paris, two or three young men met here by chance. After this, every newcomer was puzzled by the group's choice of its regular café. Despite the various attempts to move to a different café, they could not bring themselves to desert this characterless and melancholy venue, which best resembled a third-class waiting room. 10 Others recalled a later custom, whereby the artists hang up studies and small paintings on the walls. Besides smoking, drinking and playing cards, they drew pictures on the tables, 11 just as Hungarian artists used to do in Café Japán. The György Bölöni and József Rippl-Rónai, cca. 7970. Photo: PIM
