Beraud Jean (1849-1936)
An evening

Jean Bello
《Night Meeting》(1878)
Canvas, oil paint 65.5x116cm　
Paris, Musée d'Orsay

Painting size: [A] 39.3x69.6cm [B] 52.4x92.8cm [C] Approximate original size
Work code: BerSoi

Dazzling lamps, vermilion-colored curtains decorated with heavy drapes, mirrors that reflect the sense of depth between them, and a sparkling chandelier on the ceiling. This is a detailed depiction of a ball held in a gorgeous hall during the glamorous Belle Époque era, when Paris flourished.

The men are dressed in formal tailcoats, and the women are dressed in long, drawn-hem dresses that look like they would be worn on the floor at an evening party, and the delicate lace and embroidery give them a soft feel. Such a rich dress, a narrow waist cinched in by a corset, and hips bulging out by a petticoat, convey the trends in women's fashion at the time.

This work, which is now known as "Evening Party," was said to have been a soiree held at the Caillebotte mansion due to its old title, "Hotel Caillebotte," but there are not enough documents to prove this. has been done. Caillebotte was a wealthy painter, a supporter of artists such as Renoir and Monet, and a collector of Impressionism, so there is no doubt that he supported this era.

At the Renoir exhibition held in the summer of 2016, in addition to Renoir's ``The Ball at the Moulin de la Galette'', one corner was filled with paintings from the same period with themes of balls at the Opera House and the Tuileries Palace. Of all the works he created, the one that particularly caught the viewer's attention was Jean Berreau's ``Evening Party.''