The Pancake Mill (Moulin de la Galette), pictured in this vintage postcard, is suffering from an intense insuperiority complex. Everyone raves about its cousin The Moulin Rouge (Red Mill). The poor pancake mill of Montmartre is simply a wallflower. In Medieval times the Parisian skyline was dotted with many mills which were busy grinding out enough flour to feed the hungry Parisian populace.
At the time of Vincent Van Gogh's stay in Paris there were four mills standing in Montmartre. Van Gogh did once paint the mill in question in 1886. The work is sun drenched and whimsical. The Sacre Coeur was being built at this time and should have been visible in the background. Van Gogh chose to blot out the messy construction site.
The pancake mill had been turned into a restaurant which served... pancakes (crêpes) to the local clientele. I wish that Van Gogh had painted the food too! I would like to hang a painting of a cheesy ham filled crêpe on my wall.
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