If there was one place in Barcelona that stood for modernity with Parisian roots, this was the tavern Els Quatre Gats (1897-1903), founded by a group of artists who had lived in Paris –Casas, Rusiñol, Utrillo– and run by Pere Romeu, one of the central figures of bohemian Barcelona. As well as promoting magazines and other publications, he gathered enthusiasts and artists of different ages, including, as is well-known, the young Picasso. Like the Montmartre venues that inspired it, it was home to exhibitions, concerts and puppet shows, coinciding with the invention of the cinema, of which Barcelona was to become a major production centre.