Black Coffee of the Studio (caffè nero de Montparnasse)
A strong, black, bitter coffee, as drunk endlessly in Montparnasse cafés and by the stove in the studio. Less a pleasure than a work companion.
A strong, black, bitter coffee, as drunk endlessly in Montparnasse cafés and by the stove in the studio. Less a pleasure than a work companion.
Coffee is what keeps me going when the night drags on and my head refuses to let go of the figure I'm chasing. At Le Dôme, I'd sit for hours, a cup in front of me, a cigarette, and watch people pass — each face an impossible problem to solve. I take it black, strong, bitter, with nothing in it: sugar is for those who have time. I have only work, and coffee is on my side.
- •Dark roast ground coffee — a good dose (base)
- •Water — a small cup (extraction)
Black Coffee of the Studio (caffè nero de Montparnasse)
A strong, black, bitter coffee, as drunk endlessly in Montparnasse cafés and by the stove in the studio. Less a pleasure than a work companion.
Why this dish? All his biographers tell us that Giacometti lived on coffee, alcohol, and countless cigarettes, working at night in his tiny studio on rue Hippolyte-Maindron and ending up at the cafés of Montparnasse — Le Dôme, La Coupole. Black coffee was his fuel, well before real meals.
Coffee is what keeps me going when the night drags on and my head refuses to let go of the figure I'm chasing. At Le Dôme, I'd sit for hours, a cup in front of me, a cigarette, and watch people pass — each face an impossible problem to solve. I take it black, strong, bitter, with nothing in it: sugar is for those who have time. I have only work, and coffee is on my side.
Ingredients (period version)
- Dark roast ground coffee — a good dose (base)
- Water — a small cup (extraction)
Ingredients
- Freshly ground dark roast coffee — 18 g (base)
- Filtered water at ~92 °C — 30–60 ml (espresso) or 150 ml (strong filter) (extraction)
Method
- Grind the coffee just before brewing, fine enough for a strong extraction.
- Prepare using a French press, moka pot, or espresso machine, without diluting.
- Serve immediately, scalding hot, in a small thick cup, no sugar or milk.
- Accompany, in studio style, with a glass of water and an hour of work.
How it was made : In pre- and post-war Paris, Montparnasse cafés were the artists' second studio: they worked, debated, and survived on credit over a coffee. The strong black coffee, inherited from Italian tradition and widely popularized in the 20th century, structured workdays that ignored regular mealtimes.
The contemporary twist : Served in a raw stoneware cup, as rough as a plaster base, alongside a notebook and pencil — coffee as a work tool.
Sources : James Lord, Giacometti: A Biography (1985) · David Sylvester, Looking at Giacometti (1994)
Alberto Giacometti · Charactorium