L’arrivée Des Midinettes 

Jean Béraud prints bring the boulevards, cafés, theatres and fashionable crowds of Belle Époque Paris into your home. Béraud painted everyday life in the city with precise detail and gentle humour, from milliners crossing the Pont des Arts on a windy day to patrons at the Pâtisserie Gloppe. Our collection of fine art prints includes his street scenes, interiors, theatre pictures and portraits.

About Jean Béraud

Jean Béraud was born on 12 January 1849 in Saint Petersburg, where his father, a sculptor, was probably working on St Isaac's Cathedral. After his father's death the family moved to Paris. He was studying law when the Franco-Prussian War and the siege of Paris interrupted his plans in 1870.

He became a pupil of Léon Bonnat and first exhibited at the Salon in 1872, but made his name only in 1876 with On the Way Back from the Funeral. He exhibited with the Society of French Watercolourists at the 1889 World's Fair and received the Legion of Honour in 1894. He was a friend of Édouard Manet, and the writer Guy de Maupassant admired him.

Béraud also painted biblical scenes in contemporary Paris settings, such as Mary Magdalene in the House of the Pharisee, which caused controversy. Later he spent less time painting and more on exhibition committees, including the Société Nationale. He never married and died in Paris on 4 October 1935, and is buried in Montparnasse Cemetery beside his mother.

Style and Subjects

Béraud's style sits between the academic painting of the Salon and Impressionism. His scenes are precise and detailed, full of fashionable women, top-hatted men, shop girls, cab drivers and street sellers, set against Paris's boulevards, bridges, cafés and theatres.

Like Manet and Degas, he painted the busy life of the modern city rather than the countryside, often with humour and a sharp eye for social detail. His colours are clear and his light is the soft grey light of Paris.

Famous Works

• Sunday at the Church of Saint-Philippe-du-Roule (1877), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Fashionable Parisians leaving Sunday Mass.
• A Windy Day on the Pont des Arts (about 1880–1881), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Pedestrians battling the wind on the famous footbridge.
• Paris Kiosk (about 1880–1884), Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. A woman passing a newspaper kiosk on the boulevard.
• Le Boulevard Montmartre, devant le Théâtre des Variétés (1885). The busy boulevard in the afternoon.
• La Pâtisserie Gloppe (1889), Musée Carnavalet, Paris. Elegant customers in a fashionable Paris pastry shop.
• The Newsroom of the Journal des Débats (1889), Musée d'Orsay, Paris. Journalists at work in the newspaper's offices.
• Mary Magdalene in the House of the Pharisee (1891), Musée d'Orsay, Paris. A biblical scene set among Parisian men in evening dress.

Decorating with Béraud Prints

Béraud's Paris street scenes are perfect for living rooms, hallways, kitchens and home offices, bringing the charm of the boulevards to any room. A pair such as Windy Day, Place de la Concorde and Le Pont des Arts par grand vent makes a lovely set.

His café and pâtisserie interiors suit a dining room or kitchen, and his theatre scenes, such as Exit from the Loge of the Opera, bring evening glamour to a sitting room or bedroom.

FAQ

Who was Jean Béraud?

Jean Béraud was a French painter who lived from 1849 to 1935. He is famous for detailed paintings of everyday life in Belle Époque Paris.

What did Jean Béraud paint?

He painted the boulevards, cafés, theatres, shops and fashionable people of Paris, and also biblical scenes set in contemporary Paris.

Was Jean Béraud an Impressionist?

Not strictly. His style sits between academic Salon painting and Impressionism. Like his friend Manet, he focused on modern city life.

Who taught Jean Béraud?

He studied with the academic portrait painter Léon Bonnat.

Where can I see Béraud's paintings?

The Musée Carnavalet in Paris, the museum of the city's history, holds many of his works. Others are in the Musée d'Orsay, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Walters Art Museum.

Related Artists

• Léon Bonnat: his teacher
• Édouard Manet: his friend and fellow painter of modern Paris
• Edgar Degas: painter of Parisian urban life
• Giuseppe De Nittis: painter of Paris street life in the same years
• James Tissot: painter of fashionable society of the same era