Valmy and Léa
Jean Béraud (French, 1849–1935)
c. 1885–95
Medium
brush and brown wash, heightened with white gouache, over graphite
Dimensions
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Classification
Drawing
Department
Drawings
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Bequest of Muriel Butkin
Accession Number
2008.407
Tags
male
About this artwork
A forerunner to the cabaret, the café-concert was an irresistible subject for artists working in fin-de-siècle Paris. Here, the performers are illuminated by the unnatural glow of gas footlights, while the musicians in the orchestra, seen mostly from behind, are tucked in the shadowy foreground. The neck of the double bass extends above the crowd, drawing the viewer’s eye to the climactic cancan.