The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Valmy and Léa

Valmy and Léa

c. 1885–95
(French, 1849–1935)
France, 20th century
brush and brown wash, heightened with white gouache, over graphite
Sheet: 36 x 51.7 cm (14 3/16 x 20 3/8 in.)
Bequest of Muriel Butkin 2008.407
Location: not on view

Description

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.
  • Breitman, Ellen. Art and the Stage. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1981. Referenced: p. 58, Reproduced: pl. 35
    Foster, Carter E., Sylvain Bellenger, and Patrick Shaw Cable. French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin. Exh. Cat. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. Mentioned: pp. 112-113, no. 51; Reproduced: p. 113
    Thomson, Richard. "The Imperatives of Style: Seurat's Drawings, 1886-1891." In Georges Seurat: The Drawings, edited by Jodi Hauptmann. Exh. Cat. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 2007. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 182
    Frank, Frédéric and Belinda Thomson. In Concert!: Musical Instruments in Art 1860-1910. Giverny: Musée des Impressionnismes, 2017. p. 69, 76. Mentioned: p. 69, no. 8; Reproduced: p. 76
  • In Concert! Musical Instruments in Art, 1860-1910. Musée des Impressionismes Giverny, Giverny, France (organizer) (March 24-July 2, 2017).
    Themes and Variations: Musical Drawings and Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 25-May 17, 2015).
    French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26-October 28, 2001); Dahesh Museum of Art (February 19-May 18, 2002).
    Art and the Stage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 22-August 16, 1981).
  • {{cite web|title=Valmy and Léa|url=false|author=Jean Béraud|year=c. 1885–95|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2008.407