Jean Béraud was a French painter renowned for his numerous paintings depicting the life of Paris, and the nightlife of Paris society. His blurred artworks are precisely detailed illustrations of everyday Parisian life during the "Belle Époque" period.

This painting enthralled visitors to the Paris Salon of 1882 and the Munich International Exposition of 1883, in part because of the celebrity of Ernest-Alexandre-Honore Coquelin. Known as a comedic actor at the Comédie-Française, he is shown here captivating a fashionable audience with an intimate monologue. An endorsement of the painting's significance to the artist, this work can also be seen in the following portrait of Béraud in his studio