The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 28, 2023

Valmy and Léa

c. 1885–95

Jean Béraud

(French, 1849–1935)

France, 20th century

Brush and brown wash, heightened with white gouache, over graphite

Support: Beige wove paper, laid down on cardboard

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 base extends above the crowd, drawing the viewer’s eye to the climactic can-can.

Inscriptions

Inscription

lower center, in black ink: Jean Béraud / [fragments of an additional signature]

Citations
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
Exhibition history

Art and the Stage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 22-August 16, 1981).

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).

Themes and Variations: Musical Drawings and Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 25-May 17, 2015).

In Concert! Musical Instruments in Art, 1860-1910. Musée des Impressionismes Giverny, Giverny, France (organizer) (March 24-July 2, 2017).

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