• Jean Beraud
• French, 1849-1936
• "Les Ouvreuses"
• Watercolor
• 19 1/4 x 13 3/8 inches; Framed: 28 1/4 x 22 1/4 inches
• Signed lower left
• Price on Request

Exhibited:Paris, Galerie Georges | Petit, Société d’Aquarellistes francais, 7th exhibition, 1885, no. 2,Illustrated | Paris, Exposition Universelle, Pavilion des Aquarellistes, Champ de Mars,1889 | Paris, Musée Carnavalet, Jean Béraud, Peintre de la vie Parisienne, 1936-1937, no. 1 | "Les Ouvreuses" is an important and insightful work from Béraud’s body of work. Béraud is one of the best known artists of the Belle Époque period and he also recognized within the Realist Tradition of French painting. This work stands as a Realist work in the strongest sense. It depicts two “usherettes” at the theatre, in repose during a moment of quiet while the production is in progress. Béraud usually chose to depict the upper-class during balls and gatherings or busy street scenes populated with people, the tone one of activity, gaiety and movement. Upon occasion he would capture Absinthe drinkers or men at billiards but never so poignantly, as these women in their moment of quiet. There is reference with the tops hats and cloaks to the upper crust of society but it is the women with their folded hands that are the focus of this work. Another unusual element is his use of the ceiling in the piece. His perspective on the room emphasizes a claustrophobic feel and the dimness heightens the feeling of these women’s separation from those attending the theatre. Béraud worked primarily in oil and it is intriguing to see him purposely tackle this work in watercolor to exhibit it in 1885 at an exhibition of watercolors at the Galerie Georges Petit and then the Exposition Universelle of 1889. This piece was Béraud’s most important work on paper, done with an eye toward being a serious exhibition piece. This work recently went through auction unobserved in its original framing and presentation. It was a rare opportunity to “find” a critical work that has slipped by. He clearly was attempting a more democratic viewpoint by depicting the women behind the scenes instead of his usual choice of those attending the theatre. This work allows us a fuller appreciation of Béraud and the depth that could be achieved in his work.