Édouard Manet
Manet's studio through the 1870s, until July 1878. Its windows overlooked the rue Mosnier, now the rue de Berne, which he painted several times including the flags hung for the national holiday of 30 June 1878.
4 rue de Saint-Pétersbourg
Still standing
Outside only
A building
Manet's studio through the 1870s, whose windows looked down on what was then the rue Mosnier — the street he painted repeatedly, flags and all, in the summer of 1878.
- 4 rue de Saint-Pétersbourg, 75008 Paris
- Manet's studio through the 1870s, until July 1878
Illustration
The place, briefly
Édouard Manet used this studio through the 1870s, leaving it in July 1878. It sat in the Quartier de l'Europe, the district of new streets laid out around the Gare Saint-Lazare — the same quarter, and very nearly the same years, in which Claude Monet was painting inside the station itself.
The windows are the reason this address matters. They overlooked what was then the rue Mosnier, and Manet painted the view down into it several times: the street with workmen, the street with a one-legged man on crutches, and most famously the street hung end to end with tricolours for the national holiday of 30 June 1878. That day was a state-organised celebration marking France's recovery after the defeat of 1870 and the Commune, and both Manet and Monet went out and painted the flags — Monet on the rue Montorgueil, Manet from his own window.
The rue Mosnier has since been renamed the rue de Berne. The studio building on the rue de Saint-Pétersbourg stands and is private.
Key facts
- Through the 1870s, until July 1878
- The rue Mosnier, now the rue de Berne
- The rue Mosnier series, including the flags of 30 June 1878
- The Quartier de l'Europe, around the Gare Saint-Lazare
- Private building — exterior only
In images
Timeline
Manet paints the rue Mosnier hung with flags for the celebration of 30 June.
He leaves the studio in July and takes an apartment at 39 rue de Saint-Pétersbourg.
On the map
Questions before you go
What is the rue Mosnier today?
It is now the rue de Berne, in the 8th arrondissement.
What was the 30 June 1878 celebration?
A state-organised national holiday marking France's recovery after the defeat of 1870 and the Commune. Paris was hung with flags, and both Manet and Monet painted the streets that day.
Can you see the studio?
No. The building stands but is private and unmarked.
People who knew this place
Within walking distance
Pont de l'Europe
The iron bridge carrying six streets across the tracks behind Gare Saint-Lazare — the subject of Gustave Caillebotte's 1876 painting, and the spot where Impressionism looked hardest at industrial Paris.
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Place de Dublin
The star-shaped junction in the Quartier de l'Europe where Gustave Caillebotte set Paris Street; Rainy Day — and one of the few places in Paris where you can stand almost exactly where a famous painting was composed and recognise everything.
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42 rue de Londres
One of Claude Debussy's documented Paris homes, and his address until around 1894 — the years in which he wrote the Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune and began Pelléas et Mélisande.
Visit the place
39 rue de Saint-Pétersbourg
The apartment Édouard Manet moved to in 1878 and remained associated with until his death in 1883, in the last years when illness had reduced what he could physically paint.
Visit the placeReferences
References
The sources below include histories, archival materials, scholarly research, and official records that informed this page. They document 4 rue de Saint-Pétersbourg, the people connected to it, and its place in Paris.
1Édouard Manet: Chronology
WebsiteManet.orgUsed forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the 4 rue de Saint-Pétersbourg page.
2Édouard Manet
WebsiteNineteenth-Century Art (Michelle Facos)Used forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the 4 rue de Saint-Pétersbourg page.
3Édouard Manet (1832–1883) — The Metropolitan Museum of Art
WebsiteThe Metropolitan Museum of ArtUsed forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the 4 rue de Saint-Pétersbourg page.
4Émile Zola, by Édouard Manet
WebsiteMusée d'OrsayUsed forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the 4 rue de Saint-Pétersbourg page.
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Why these sources are here
These references provide the documented foundation for this page's history and context. Claim-level citations remain attached to the specific claims they support.
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Paris, one address at a time.
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