Valmy and Léa

Valmy and Léa — Jean Béraud. 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.).

Collection record: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.

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.

Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.