Jean (1849) Béraud Sold at Auction Prices

Close scrutiny

Jean Béraud (French, 1849-1936) Close scrutiny signed and dated 'Jean Beraud 1908' (upper right) Pen and ink and bodycolour on paper 11½ x 9 in. (29 x 22.8 cm.)

JEAN BÉRAUD (1849-1936) LE DOMPTEUR, 1873 Huile sur panneau Signée et datée 73 en bas à gauche 34 x 42 cm

JEAN BÉRAUD (1849-1936) LE DOMPTEUR, 1873 Huile sur panneau Signée et datée 73 en bas à gauche 34 x 42 cm Estimation : € 6,000-8,000 BIBLIOGRAPHIE Jean Béraud, 1849-1935, La Belle Epoque, une époque rêvée, Patrick Offenstadt, Köln, Taschen, Wildenstein Institute, 1999, décrit et reproduit en couleur sous le n° 460 (avec comme dimensions 32,5 x 57 cm)

Jean Béraud (French, 1849-1936)

Scène de bal signed 'Jean Beraud.' (lower left) oil on canvas 10 3/4 x 13 7/8 in. (27.4 x 35.3 cm.)

Jean Béraud (1849-1935)

Le Dimanche près de Saint-Philippe-du-Roule signé 'JB' craie noire, plume et encre brune, sur papier calque 296 x 339 mm.

Jean Béraud (1849-1935)

La sortie de l'Opéra: deux femmes en manteau tenant des éventails signé 'Jean Béraud' plume et encre noire 356 x 244 mm.

Jean Béraud (French, 1849-1936)

La Rue de la Paix signed 'Jean Béraud.' (lower left) oil on canvas 26 x 36 1/4 in. (66 x 92 cm.) Painted circa 1907

JEAN BÉRAUD

FRENCH, 1849 - 1936 A WOMAN FENCER A WOMAN FENCER measurements 20 1/8 by 14 in. alternate measurements 50.8 by 35.5 cm signed Jean Béraud (lower right) oil on panel This lot will be included in Patrick Offenstadt and the Wildenstein Institute's forthcoming supplement to the Jean Béraud catalogue raisonné.

JEAN BÉRAUD

FRENCH, 1849 - 1936 CAFÉ SOCIETY measurements 17 3/4 by 21 1/2 in. alternate measurements 45 by 54.6 cm signed Jean Béraud (lower right) oil on panel This lot will be included in Patrick Offenstadt and the Wildenstein Institute's forthcoming supplement to the Jean Béraud catalogue raisonné. PROVENANCE Maxwell Galleries, San Francisco Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1961 NOTE A large number of the artist's cafe scenes featuring absinthe drinkers were sold to Bernheim Jeune in 1909, and seem to have been painted around 1890. The artist's preoccupation with the slightly sinister side of café life echoed that of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. Stylishly dressed, this pair could be seen to symbolize the decadence of the age, and in the male sitter's case, the mental disquiet caused by the addictive green beverage. He could easily represent Coupeau in Zola's classic tale of lives destroyed by alcoholism, L' Assomoir.

JEAN BÉRAUD, FRENCH 1849 - 1936

L'ESCRIMEUSE 46x55cm.; 18x21¾in. signed oil on panel

JEAN BÉRAUD (1849-1936) LE DOMPTEUR, 1873 Huile sur panneau Signée et datée 73 en bas à gauche 34 x 42 cm BIBLIOGRAPHIE ...

JEAN BÉRAUD (1849-1936) LE DOMPTEUR, 1873 Huile sur panneau Signée et datée 73 en bas à gauche 34 x 42 cm Estimation : € 6,000-8,000 BIBLIOGRAPHIE Jean Béraud, 1849-1935, La Belle Epoque, une époque rêvée, Patrick Offenstadt, Köln, Taschen, Wildenstein Institute, 1999, décrit et reproduit en couleur sous le n° 460 (avec comme dimensions 32,5 x 57 cm)

Jean Beraud (1849-1936) French Portrait of the artists nephew, 16 x 13 ins.

Jean Beraud (1849-1936) French oil on canvas, Portrait of the artist's nephew, signed, 16 x 13 ins. Estimate £4,000-6,000

JEAN BÉRAUD

FRENCH, 1849 - 1936 A BUSY NIGHT AT THE THEATER measurements 19 1/4 by 13 3/8 in. alternate measurements 49 by 34cm signed Jean Béraud (lower left) watercolor EXHIBITED Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, Société d'Aquarellistes français, 7th exhibition, 1885, no. 2, illustrated, (as Les Ouvreuses) Paris, Exposition Universelle, Pavillon des Aquarellistes, Champ de Mars, 1889 Paris, Musée Carnavalet, Jean Béraud, Peintre de la vie Parisienne, 1936-1937, no. 71 LITERATURE F. Henriet, "L'Exposition des Aquarellistes au Champ de Mars", le Journal des Arts, February 6th, 1885, no. 2 F. Henriet, "Le Pavillon des Aquarellistes au Champ de Mars", le Journal des Arts, August 2, 1889, p. 1 Patrick Offenstadt, Jean Béraud, 1849-1935, la Belle-Epoque, une époque rêvée, Catalogue Raisonné, Paris, 1999, p. 211, no. 258, illustrated (with different measurements)

JEAN BÉRAUD

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION FRENCH, 1849 - 1936 LA BOULE DE VERRE measurements 22 by 15 in. alternate measurements 55.8 by 38.1 cm signed Jean Béraud and dated 1875 (lower left) oil on canvas PROVENANCE Private Collection, Grosse Pointe, Michigan (circa 1930s) Thence by descent to the present owner NOTE In the years following his departure from Léon Bonnat's studio, Béraud experimented with the more daring techniques of the Impressionists. By 1875, the year of La Boule de Verre's execution, Béraud's palette had grown lighter, his brushwork finer, his drawing more supple yet precise, his compositions more carefully conceived (Patrick Offenstadt, Jean Béraud, 1849-1935, The Belle Époque: A Dream of Times Gone By, Paris, 1999, p. 8). This scene of a garden filled with sunlight, a beautifully dressed woman, and her faithful pet easily recalls the compositions of the Impressionist masters. Certainly the use of alternating brilliant light and deep shade, expressive touches of color, and rhythmic composition are characteristics found in Monet's Garden at Sainte-Andresse (1867, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) and The Croquet Party (1873, The Staedel Museum, Frankfurt) by Manet, an artist Béraud particularly admired. Yet Béraud creates something new and distinct in La Boule de Verre, combining and experimenting with daring artistic elements to evoke a unique sense of realism. The balance of Impressionist leanings and personal vision is what makes the present work so exemplary in the artist's oeuvre; in fact, this may be the only known composition of its kind. The closest comparisons to the present work range from Young Girl with Japanese Parasol on the Banks of the Seine (Société des Amis arts de Charlieu) to Daydream with Figaro (Private Collection, Connecticut), which both present a young lady in an outdoor setting. Yet only La Boule de Verre employs bold blocks of contrasting light effects, a saturated color palette, a strong vertical format, and upwardly tilting perspective, allowing for a sweeping perspective over the central figure, the garden path, and up to the bright blue sky above dotted with clouds. Perhaps the most familiar element in La Boule de Verre is the elegant young woman, who Béraud has dressed in the latest fashion of the day. However, unlike many of his contemporaries, such as Auguste Toulemouche or Alfred Stevens, who focused so intently on costume, Béraud does not seem as concerned with a detailed, stitch-by-stitch rendering of the dress as with a quintessential, overall impression of its elegance. In a series of loosely applied brushstrokes, the white tones of the fabric are mixed with soft grays, which contrast with the heavier blacks, creating a long, tight bodice molded over corset and slender skirt with a modest covering of an apron overskirt. The large bustle of the earlier century has been replaced in favor of a short train of black ribbon, matched by that of her sleeves, a nearly invisible white gauze and Japanese fan, decorated with floral blurs of pastel colors---all features which emphasize the sensual allure of her outfit. The model holds an umbrella to shield her from the sun while the fan serves to cool her from the rays. The white poodle (who often appears in Béraud's best-loved paintings) is a symbol of her influence and prestige. In the mid to late nineteenth century, poodles were a consistent status symbol, and many sunny afternoons were spent taking the animal to be washed, clipped, and then walked to show off the latest grooming styles. It is probably no coincidence that the poodle and his mistress are each characterized by a predominately white palette; almost as if both were being judged for show. Surrounding the pair are plants in this garden of cultivated disarray, built of strokes of paint in numerous shades of green from cool mint to jade, interrupted by the purples and reds of blooming flowers. Despite the sunny day, the lady herself and her poodle are cast in shadow, suggesting that a grove of tall trees stands to their side. In this composition, Béraud provides a sensual visual display of figure and setting. This underscores his unique ability to capture the multifaceted aesthetic aspects of contemporary life in the late nineteenth century. Yet La Boule de Verre seems particularly focused on the relationship between seeing this lovely lady and her dog and, in return, being seen by them. While the model's gaze is directed off and out of the canvas, her poodle looks directly at the viewer, suggesting we have stumbled across a private walk (it is of course somewhat unusual that this woman is not chaperoned). The poodle's gaze is matched by another seeing eye--the boule de verre itself. As Alfred Stevens so famously detailed in his La Boule de Verre (sold: Sotheby's, New York, October 24, 1989, lot 99), the glass orb, a common nineteenth century garden ornament, was also a fascinating device for artistic experimentation. The mirrored, convex surface allowed for a brighter, bigger, better image of reality to be spied on its surface. In Béraud's work, the boule, ignored by the lady, stares almost directly across the viewer's site lines, drawing us into this sun-filled painted realm--itself more beautiful than day-to-day life, a visual escape of utmost beauty. Please note this work will be sold unframed. We are grateful to Patrick Offenstadt for kindly confirming the authenticity of this lot and providing additional catalogue information.

Jean Bèraud (French, 1849-1936)

La loge au théâtre signed 'Jean Béraud'(lower left) watercolor heightened with gouache on cardboard 18 3/4 x 12 1/3 in. (47.5 x 31.5 cm.) Painted between 1880-1890 Frame designed by the artist

Jean Béraud (French 1849-1946)

Christ signed 'Jean Béraud' (lower left) and dated '1900-06' (lower right) oil on panel 91 x 65 cm. (35 3/4 x 25 1/2 in.)

Jean Beraud French, 1849-1936 A NIGHT OUT

Jean Beraud French, 1849-1936 A NIGHT OUT Signed Jean Beraud (ll) Sepia and wash heightened with white on paperboard 10 x 7 1/2 inches (25.5 x 19.0 cm.) Estimate $3,000-5,000 Wear along edges with some minor losses. Toned. Several scattered scuffs. 3/4 inch hairline scratch in upper left center.

JEAN BÉRAUD FRENCH, 1849 - 1936

PROPERTY OF A LADY LE PONT DE BERCY 46.5 by 56cm., 18 1/4 by 22in. PROVENANCE Sale: Christie's, Glasgow, 2 April 1969, lot 70 Rutland Gallery, London Purchased from the above by the parents of the present owner; thence by descent EXHIBITED London, Rutland Gallery, French and Belgian Painting: Where they meet and diverge, 1969, no. 1 (illustrated in the catalogue) LITERATURE Patrick Offenstadt, Jean Béraud 1849-1935, The Belle Epoque: A Dream of Times gone by, Catalogue raisonné, Taschen, 1999, pp. 156-57, no. 160, illustrated NOTE Le Pont de Bercy reveals Béraud as the great nineteenth-century painter of modern life. It shows a man and a woman exchanging gossip on the banks of the Seine at Bercy, at that time an outlying area upstream from central Paris still under development. Behind them can be seen the Pont de Bercy, completed in its stone incarnation in 1864 and known then as the Pont de la Gare. The river embankment is still being built up. If Baron Hausmann reconfigured the city physically, then Jean Béraud mapped the city visually, his paintings suffused with myriad cultural, political and social phenomena of his day. Béraud often claimed 'I find everything but Paris wearisome'. In an influential 1876 essay entitled 'The New Painting', art critic Edmond Duranty insisted on eliminating the divide separating the artist's studio from that of everyday life, urging artists to introduce the 'reality of the street' into their compositions. In Le Pont de Bercy Béraud took up Duranty's challenge. By capturing everyday life in Paris without picturesqueness or sentimentality, Le Pont de Bercy reflects the early work of Impressionist painters like Manet, Degas and Caillebotte, and novelists such as Emile Zola. From the Impressionists Béraud acquired an interest in the asymmetrical compositions of Japanese prints, then very much in vogue. The present work is composed in ways that may derive from Japanese ukioy-e, with large expanses of blank space, diagonals which cut across the canvas (here in the form of tramlines), and dark figures used as graphic interjections. Béraud also echoed Impressionist theory in choosing to paint this newer district of Paris. Annexed to the city during the Second Empire, Bercy in the 1870s was in transition, halfway between a small town and a developing residential and commercial quarter. To young painters tired of the artificiality and pretensions of academic art, districts like Bercy and Montmartre were an ideal subject, revealing the truth of modern life.

JEAN BÉRAUD (1849-1935) Lémeute

JEAN BÉRAUD (1849-1935) L'émeute Pastel, signé en bas à droite. 44 x 55 cm Expositions - Scènes et figures parisiennes, galerie Charpentier, Paris, 1943. - Peintres de 1900, galerie Charpentier, Paris, 1953. Estimation : € 8,000-10,000 Bibliographie Figurera dans le supplément du catalogue raisonné de l'aeuvre de Jean Béraud, actuellement en préparation par Patrick Offenstadt.

JEAN BÉRAUD FRENCH, 1849 - 1936 WOMEN SKATING

signed with initials J. B. (lower left) oil on panel PROVENANCE Sale, Versailles, Palais des Congrès, November 25, 1973, no. 55 Jacques Kugel, Paris Sale, Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, Collection of Jacques Kugel, January 25, 1980, lot 26, illustrated Private Collection LITERATURE AND REFERENCES Patrick Offenstadt, Jean Bèraud, 1849-1935, The Belle Époque: A Dream of Times Gone By, Catalogue Riasonné, Köhn, 1999, p. 170, no. 188, illustrated

Jean Béraud (French, 1849-1935)

Le Concert privé signed and dated 'Jean Béraud 1911' (lower right) oil on panel 23 1/2 x 28 3/4 in. (59.7 x 73 cm.) Painted in 1911

Jean Béraud (French, 1849-1936)

La Rue de la Paix signed 'Jean Béraud.' (lower left) oil on canvas 26 x 36 1/4 in. (66 x 92 cm.) Painted circa 1907

Jean Béraud (French, 1849-1936)

Les joueurs de billiard signed 'Jean Béraud.' (lower right) oil on board 13 3/4 x 17 1/4 in. (35 x 44 cm.)

Jean Béraud (French, 1849-1936)

La brasserie signed and dated 'Jean Béraud. 1883' (lower left) oil on canvas 25 3/4 x 32 in. (65.5 x 81.4 cm.) Painted in 1883

JEAN BÉRAUD FRENCH, 1849 - 1936

signed Jean Béraud l.r. oil on canvas

JEAN BÉRAUD

oil on panel FRENCH, 1849 - 1936 LE TROTTIN

JEAN BÉRAUD

signed Jean Béraud (lower left) oil on panel FRENCH, 1849 - 1936 LES ESCRIMEUSES

Jean Béraud (French, 1849-1936)

Une jeune Parisienne signed 'Jean Béraud.' (lower right) oil on panel, unframed 14 1/4 x 8 in. (36 x 20 cm.)

Jean Béraud (French, 1849-1935)

Salle d'examen de doctorat signed 'Jean Béraud' (lower left) oil on canvas 25 x 19 in. (63.5 x 48.3 cm.)

Jean Béraud (French, 1849-1935)

Le Concert privé signed and dated 'Jean Béraud 1911' (lower right) oil on panel 23 1/2 x 28 3/4 in. (59.7 x 73 cm.) Painted in 1911

Beraud, Jean (1849-1936)

LEÇON DE PATINAGE offset lithograph in colours, framed 23 x 16in. (59 x 41cm.)

JEAN BÉRAUD

signed Jean B éraud (lower right)

JEAN BÉRAUD

signed Jean B éraud (lower left)

Jean Béraud (French, 1849-1910) "European Town Square with Fountain", sight 7" x 10-1/2", watercolor on paper, signed lower right. Matted, glazed and presented in an elaborate giltwood frame.

JEAN BÉRAUD (FRENCH, 1849-1936)

signed Jean Béraud (lower left) oil on canvas

*JEAN BÉRAUD (FRENCH, 1849-1936)

signed Jean Béraud (lower center) oil on panel

JEAN BÉRAUD (FRENCH, 1849-1936)

signed Jean Béraud (lower right) oil on panel

*JEAN BÉRAUD (FRENCH, 1849-1936)

signed Jean Béraud (lower right) oil on panel

JEAN BERAUD FRENCH, 1849-1936 DEVANT LE PARC MONCEAU signed Jean Beraud (lower left) oil on canvas 1...

JEAN BERAUD FRENCH, 1849-1936 DEVANT LE PARC MONCEAU signed Jean Beraud (lower left) oil on canvas 17 by 21 1/4 in. 43.2 by 54cm. PROVENANCE Probably Carstairs Gallery, Inc., New York Mrs. John Barry Ryan, New York (probably acquired from the above) LITERATURE P. Offenstadt, Jean Beraud, 1849-1935: The Belle Epoque: A Dream of Times Gone By, K", 1999, No. 4, p. 89, illustrated Beraud has chosen the gates of the Parc Monceau, in the 8th arrondissement of Paris as the setting for the present lot. The figures are crossing what was then called the Boulevard de Courcelles, now known as Place de la Republique Dominicaine. The fashionable parks that were being carved out alongside the urban boulevards thanks to Baron Haussman's massive modernization of Paris provided Beraud with a wealth of activity to observe and record. In Devant le parc Monceau Beraud has depicted the random assortment of figures that might have passed through the park gates on any given afternoon. In the center of the composition, a woman looks directly at the viewer, as her child, whose hand she holds, pulls away, looking in the direction of the man at the right, perhaps a self-portrait of the artist. The composition has the immediacy and spontanaity of a snap-shot, and recalls the daring modernity of Degas' Place de la Concorde. Of equal interest to the artist, was the play of light and shadow across the trees, stones and pavement.

*JEAN BERAUD FRENCH, 1849-1936 UN FIGARO DE REVE signed Jean Beraud (lower left) oil on canvas 25 1/...

*JEAN BERAUD FRENCH, 1849-1936 UN FIGARO DE REVE signed Jean Beraud (lower left) oil on canvas 25 1/2 by 21 1/2 in. 64.8 by 54.6cm. PROVENANCE G. von Bodem M. Morel Galerie Brame & Lorenceau, Paris, 1986 EXHIBITED XIIIe Biennale internationale des antiquaires, Paris, Grand Palais, 1986, p. 7, illus. LITERATURE S. Haitay, "Un evenement. La XIIIe Biennale des antiquaires", Le Figaro magazine, 20 September 1986, p. 196, illus. P. Offenstadt, Jean Beraud: The Belle Epoque: A Dream of Times Gone By, Paris, 1999, p. 235, No. 305, illus. In the present lot, Beraud has taken the fashionable Parisian woman, who so often populates his scenes of bustling Belle Epoque urban life, and places her in a more tranquil surrounding - that of an idyllic, provincial getaway. The urban commotion of theater, vaudeville, cafes and couturiers which made Paris the center of sophisticated life during the late 19th century, also necessitated a respite from such a hectic pace. Hence a countryside refuge became almost as important to the fashionable members of society as a hotel particulaire in the city, or a choice table at a popular cafe. Beraud has moved his fashionable lady away from her habitual milieu of the bustling center of Paris to a pastoral setting. The development of the suburbs played a crucial role in French culture, as well as the development of French painting. The exodus of Parisians to the suburbs on weekends necessitated the creation of diversionary activities outside the city such as hotels, restaurants, boating establishments and parks. The countryside around Paris allowed artists the opportunity to pursue plein-air painting. For Beraud, who used to travel around Paris in a custom-made cab in which to observe and record city life, the environs outside Paris provided ample and immediate subject matter as well. The subject of a woman reading appears frequently in art. In the seventeenth century, the Dutch masters Vermeer and de Hooch painted women reading letters in a domestic interior. In the eighteenth century, Fragonard painted a young woman in profile reading (Washington, National Gallery of Art). In the nineteenth century, images of female readers took a more contemporary turn, as artists depicted women reading newspapers rather than books. The Impressionists were especially attracted to this motif, as it conveyed an image of an urban, sophisticated woman. Mary Cassat and Gustave Caillebotte often painted women reading newspapers. Beraud's Un Figaro de Reve was close to the Impressionists in style as well as subject. Beraud's dappled, loose brushstroke, and sun-drenched colors are reminiscent of the daring style the Impressionists were experimenting with during the 1870s. The juxtaposition of strokes of pure, unmixed pigment on the canvas to depict a shadow falling across the stone wall is similar in execution to the glistening water in Monet's La Grenouillere (New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art). The composition, seemingly casual and unposed, without reference to a narrative is startlingly modern as well. Un Figaro de Reve represents Beraud's boldest move towards Impressionism.

Jean Beraud (1849-1936)

Jean Beraud (1849-1936) JEUNE FEMME A LA VOILETTE Signed lower right. Oil on panel. 15 3/4 by 12 1/2 in. 40 by 31.8cm.

JEAN BERAUD (FRENCH 1849-1936) A PORTRAIT OF MARTHE MELLOT, ACTRESS AT THE COMEDIE FRANCAISE

signed l.r., pastel 45 by 34 cm.; 18 by 13 1/4 in. This pastel will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonne which is being prepared by Monsieur Patrick Offenstadt and the Wildenstein Foundation.

JEAN BERAUD (FRENCH 1849-1936) SMOKING AT THE BAR

signed and dedicated A Mr Dunant souvenir amical l.r., oil on board 19 by 12 cm.; 7 1/2 by 4 3/4 in. PROVENANCE The Dunant's Family, by descent. This lot will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonne on Jean Beraud which is being prepared by the Fondation Wildenstein. This lot is sold with a copy of a letter of authentification by the Fondation Wildenstein.

JEAN BERAUD (FRENCH, 1849-1936) PERSONNAGES

signed oil on board 23 1/2 by 28 3/4 in. 59.7 by 73 cm. This work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonne being prepared by Patrick Offenstadt with the help of the Foundation Wildenstein. Provenance: Hammer Galleries, New York.

JEAN BERAUD (FRENCH, 1849-1936) The Music Hall Singer signed J. Beraud

lower right - - oil on panel 9 x 6 1/8 in. (22.9 x 15.6 cm.) This painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonne of Jean Beraud's works prepared by Mr. Patrick Offenstadt with the help of the Wildenstein Foundation.

JULIUS LEBLANC STEWART (1855-1919)

FIVE O'CLOCK TEA signed " JL Stewart " and dated " Paris, 1883-4, " l.r. - - oil on canvas 66 x 91 in. (167.5 x 231.3 cm.) PROVENANCE Kugler's Restaurant, Philadelphia EXHIBITED Paris, Paris Salon, 1884, no. 2241 LITERATURE " Explication des Ouvrages de Peinture, Sculpture, Architecture, Gravure, et Lithographie des Artistes Vivants Exposes su Palais des Champs-Elysees, " Paris, 1884, p. 199 W. C. Brownell, "The American Salon", " The Magazine of Art " London, Paris and New York, 1884, vol. VII, p. 499, illus., opposite, p. 496 "The Paris Salon", " The Art Amateur, " New York, June 1884, vol. XI, no. 1, p. 6 G. W. Paris salon", " The art Amateur, " New York, June 1884, vol. XI, no, 1, p. 6 G. W. Sheldon, " Recent Ideals in American Art, " New York and London, 1888, p. 58 C. Cook, " Art and Artists of Our Time, " New York, 1888, pp. 290-292, illus. opposite, p. 293 " The Connoisseur, " June 1968, p. CXLIV, illus. M. Quick, " American Expatriates of the Late Nineteenth Century, " Dayton, 1976, p. 135 S. C. Joyner, "Julius L. Stewart, Life and Works", Master's Thesis, Hunter College, New York, 1982, p. 26 D. D. Thompson, "Julius L. Stewart, a "Parisian from Philadelphia", " The Magazine Antiques, " Nov. 1986, p. 1052 Julius Stewart arrived in Paris in 1865 and for the next fifty years was known as the "Parisian from Philadelphia". By the mid-1880s, the only American to receive more critical attention at the Salon Exhibitions was John Singer Sargent. The records of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris record that Julius Stewart entered the atelier of Jean-Leon Gerome on May 15, 1873, and Stewart became one of the master's "beloved pupils." He made his debut at the Paris Salon in 1878 with two works, and by 1883 his " Portrait of a Lady " was enthusiastically labeled by " The Art Amateur " "the most sensational American picture of all" at the Salon. However, Stewart established his reputation the next year with " Five O'Clock Tea " which portrayed the leisured life of American expatriates in Paris very much in the spirit of Henry James. " The Art Amateur " reported, "One of the most popular of the American pictures is Jules (sic) Stewart's admirably colored and well-composed " Five O'Clock Tea". " G. W. Sheldon called " Five O'Clock Tea " "the picture which first made him widely known". Clarence Cook mentioned that the expatriate family portrayed by Stewart in " Five O'clock Tea " was American, but the identity of the group has not been established. However, the artist himself has been positively identified as the bearded figure in the upper left-hand corner of the painting. Certainly the family was a prominent and wealthy American clan residing in Paris, no doubt in the circle of other families recorded by Stewart: the family of Anthony J. Drexel, the partner of J. P. Morgan (" After the Wedding, " 1880, Drexel University Museum) or the Vanderbilt family (" The Baptism, " 1892, Los Angeles County Museum of Art). Stewart like his friend, the French genre painter Jean Beraud (1849-1906), specialized in elaborate, multifigured compositions, incorporating celebrities of the day. The French critic Gaston Jollivet notes in 1888 that "between portraits and genre pictures proper, there is a mixed style of composition, partaking of the character of both which excites a two-fold curiosity". Jollivet proceeded to note that Stewart and Beraud were the principal practitioners of this art, and in retrospect J. J. Tissot should be added to their number.. We know the identities of the sitters in several of Stewart's genre- portrait compositions either from contemporary reviews or visual keys that survive. He frequently painted his American friend, the notorious James Gorden Bennett (1841-1918), a publisher and sportsman who established the Paris " Herald, " (now the " International Herald Tribune). " In his best-known composition, " The Hunt Ball " (Essex Club, Newark, New Jersey), Stewart included portraits of several of the great Parisian swells: the Due de Morny, Vicomte de Jange, and the Baron Rothschild. General Rush C. Hawkins (1831-1920), United States commissioner for fine arts to the Exposition Universelle of 1889 in Paris, drolly summarized Stewart's appeal: "He is a painter of thoroughly " chic " portraits of women, and... always produces genteel results. He never paints a woman to be of lower rank than that of baroness, and all his young girls look like daughters of duchesses." Stewart's career mirrored the popular currents of Salon painting in Paris from the end of the Second Empire to the outbreak of World War I. Indeed, Stewart's infatuation with prominent figures of the day placed in elaborate surroundings is nowhere more evident than in " Five O'Clock Tea. ".