Born to French parents in St. Petersburg, Russia, Béraud (French, 1849 - 1935) was taken to Paris in 1853. He abandoned a career in law to become a painter and eventually became known for his highly detailed scenes of urban life. Working from a carriage that he converted into a mobile studio, Béraud recorded life on the grand boulevards that had recently been carved through the city by Baron Haussman. In this scene, the level of detail is so exact that we can make out an advertisement on the Morris column for a comic opera called "La Fatinitza," which opened in 1879 at the Théâtre de Nouveauté. [Oil on canvas, 35.5 x 26.5 cm] gandalfsgallery.blogspot.com/2011/10/jean-beraud-paris-ki...