"The Chat Noir was really the instigator of making Montmartre an artistic and literary center, " Mr. Cate explains.

WSJ: Bohemia in Paris | 'Around the Chat Noir' at the Mus��e de Montmartre and 'Bohemias' at the Grand Palais

In the first room hangs an 1884 portrait by Antonio de La Gandara of flamboyantly attired Rodolphe Salis, founder of the Chat Noir.

WSJ: Bohemia in Paris | 'Around the Chat Noir' at the Mus��e de Montmartre and 'Bohemias' at the Grand Palais

Four months after opening, Salis launched the Chat Noir journal.

WSJ: Bohemia in Paris | 'Around the Chat Noir' at the Mus��e de Montmartre and 'Bohemias' at the Grand Palais