Display

Aperitif and Showmanship

A Pastel Portrait of Belle Époque Soirees

From March 18th to July 02nd, 2025
Leonetto Cappiello
Bec Régina, 1901
Musée d'Orsay
Achat, 1979
© RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski
See the notice of the artwork
Leonetto Cappiello had a sense of showmanship and literally showed his subjects.

The mockups for his advertising and art posters conserved at the Musée d’Orsay are in pastels. Making use of this vibrant medium and with remarkable visual restraint, the artist created sinuous, slender dancing figures with rippling hair, sporting fashion accessories with undulating feathers. In these simple sketches, whether caricature or portrait, a whole world of creation takes shape. Women of fashion, playwrights, composers, actors declaiming, musicians rehearsing, audiences and celebrities put on a real show for us.

  1. Monday Closed
  2. Tuesday 9.30am - 6.00pm
  3. Wednesday 9.30am - 6.00pm
  4. Thursday 9.30am - 9.45pm
  5. Friday 9.30am - 6.00pm
  6. Saturday 9.30am - 6.00pm
  7. Sunday 9.30am - 6.00pm
Musée d'Orsay
Map & itinerary
Tarifs
Time slot full rate
€16
Time slot reduced rate
€13
Enfant & Cie
€13
Nocturne rate
€12
-18 year olds, -26 year old residents of the EEA
Free

Exhibition artworks