Mademoiselle Bécat at the Café des Ambassadeurs, Paris
Edgar Degas French
Portrait of Emélie Bécat French
Not on view
The popularity of Parisian cafés-concerts, casual venues offering musical entertainment, reached new heights in the 1870s. Degas first treated the subject in a series of monotypes in 1876–77. This work, featuring the singer Emélie Bécat at the outdoor Café des Ambassadeurs, likely began as a monotype, which the artist transferred to a lithographic stone and further developed with crayon and scraping. The print presents a dizzying array of lighting effects, contrasting the dim orchestra pit with glaring footlights, a sparkling chandelier, brilliant gaslight globes, and glinting streaks of fireworks.
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