Boulevard des Capucines and théâtre du Vaudeville

Jean Béraud's view of the Boulevard des Capucines with the Théâtre du Vaudeville (1889) depicts one of Paris's most fashionable boulevards, the site of the First Impressionist Exhibition of 1874 and a center of Belle Époque social life. Béraud painted the great boulevards repeatedly throughout his career, documenting the street life, fashion, and architecture of Haussmann's Paris with the detail of a visual journalist. The theater, with its fashionable clientele arriving and departing, provided a natural focal point within the broader boulevard scene.

Béraud renders the boulevard with his characteristic combination of architectural precision and figure painting — the Haussmann buildings accurately rendered while the street level teems with individualized pedestrians. His handling of gaslight, electric light, and daylight (depending on the hour depicted) demonstrates his sophisticated understanding of the different qualities of artificial and natural illumination. The theater facade provides compositional structure within the street scene's complexity.