Valmy and Léa

About the 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.

Inscriptions

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

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).

Quick Overview

Artist: Jean Béraud (French, 1849–1935)
Date: c. 1885–95
Medium: brush and brown wash, heightened with white gouache, over graphite
Dimensions: Sheet: 36 x 51.7 cm (14 3/16 x 20 3/8 in.)
Type: Drawing
Classification: Drawing
Department: Drawings
Credit line: Bequest of Muriel Butkin
Accession no.: 2008.407

More by Jean Béraud in museum collections

Nude Woman Seated with Nude Man Asleep (recto); Female Torso Seen from Behind (verso)
Jean Béraud
1875 (recto); c. 1875 (verso) · Drawing
Public collection via the Art Institute of ChicagoAT-00004617

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.