Revue au théâtre des variétés

Jean Béraud's 'Revue au théâtre des Variétés' (Review at the Théâtre des Variétés, 1888) depicts one of the most celebrated entertainment venues of Belle Époque Paris — the Théâtre des Variétés on the Boulevard Montmartre was famous for its operettas, vaudevilles, and the revue format that was among the most popular entertainments of the Second Empire and Third Republic. Béraud's engagement with Parisian theater and entertainment life was consistent throughout his career, and his theater subjects combined social observation of the audience with documentation of the spectacular entertainment.

Béraud renders the theater interior with his characteristic descriptive precision — the specific details of the theater's interior architecture, the fashionably dressed audience, and the entertainment on stage all depicted with the accuracy of social reportage. His handling of the varied artificial illumination within the theater (footlights, chandeliers, and the stage lighting that transformed performers into spectacle) creates the atmospheric complexity of the theater subject.