Girls of Montmartre
Original oil painting by Matthew Holden Bates.
Girls of Montmartre — oil on canvas by Matthew Holden Bates.
Montmartre, Paris, France.
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About This Painting
Girls of Montmartre was created for a collaboration with Galerie Neel in Paris. The painting captures a moment in Montmartre, one of the city’s most storied artistic neighborhoods, where streets, cafés, figures, and architecture still carry the atmosphere of painters, poets, and wanderers.
The figures in the painting bring a human intimacy to the Parisian setting. Rather than presenting Montmartre as a postcard, the painting focuses on a lived moment: people moving through the city, light falling across the street, and the layered character of a place shaped by art history and daily life.
Like many of my cityscape paintings, this work began with direct observation and photography, then developed slowly in the studio through drawing, composition, and layers of oil paint. The original painting has been sold, but prints remain available.