Jean Béraud (1849–1935) was born on 12 January 1849 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to French parents. His father, a sculptor, was probably working on the construction of St Isaac’s Cathedral, and after his death in 1853 the family returned to Paris. Béraud first studied law, until 1870, and then trained as a painter in the studio of Léon Bonnat.
He made his debut at the Paris Salon in 1873 and became one of the best-known painters of the Belle Époque, with a close, polished eye for the boulevards, cafés and society life of the city, from the Champs-Élysées to the theatres and evening streets. In the 1890s he also painted religious scenes in contemporary settings. In 1890 he was a co-founder, with Rodin, Meissonier and Puvis de Chavannes, of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, of which he became vice-president, and he was awarded the Légion d’honneur.
Towards the end of his life Béraud painted less and sat on many exhibition committees. He never married, and he died in Paris on 4 October 1935 and was buried in the Montparnasse Cemetery beside his mother.