Jean Béraud artwork • painting • for sale Les Midinettes

Jean Béraud, was a French painter born in Saint Petersburg, who moved to Paris after the death of his father. There he chose to train at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, where he was taught by the famous portrait painter Léon Bonnat in an academic-naturalistic style. Béraud became famous with his scenes from everyday life during the Belle Époque. In a style that lies somewhere between the academic art of the Salon and that of the emerging Impressionists, he depicts the Champs Élysées and other busy boulevards and the nightlife on Montmartre and at the Opéra. His work often shows a great sense of humor and he regularly mocks the lives of Parisians at the end of the 19th century. While other impressionists at that time moved to the outskirts of Paris to depict country life, Béraud, like his friend Édouard Manet, remained faithful to the cityscape. He was best known for his 'À la salle Graffard' technique, which he used for visual effect in his paintings and would be adopted by many painters. The upper part of the painting was painted in a light haze, figures/spectators were depicted in the foreground, while other people stood out against a darker background.