Isa Tyde, La belle Irlandaise (circa 1890) by Jean-Louis Forain

Jean-Louis Forain (1852–1931), French, A sharp-eyed chronicler of Parisian life during the Belle Époque, this artist captured the glitter and grit of his era with a wit as biting as his brushstrokes. Trained under Gérôme and influenced by Degas, he became known for his incisive depictions of opera houses, courtrooms, and cafés—spaces where vanity and vulnerability collided. His work straddled caricature and fine art, employing loose, expressive lines to skewer social pretenses while revealing fleeting moments of humanity. Though often associated with the Impressionists (he exhibited in four of their shows), his style retained a darker, more satirical edge, closer to Daumier than Monet. Legal dramas fascinated him; his courtroom scenes exposed the theater of justice, with judges and defendants alike rendered in unsparing psychological detail. Later, World War I shifted his focus—his wartime drawings traded irony for raw emotion, earning him recognition as an official war artist. Despite his success, he remained something of an outsider, distrustful of artistic dogma. Forain’s legacy lies in his ability to freeze the contradictions of modern life: the absurdity and grace, the cruelty and tenderness, all observed with a raised eyebrow and a deft hand.