Jean Béraud, 'After the Misdeed', about 1885 - 90

The sensuous nature of this interior contrasts with the sober way in which the figure is dressed and with the moral tone of the work. A large sofa, which takes up the full width of the image, is richly upholstered in plush red velvet. The same fabric also covers the cushions resting on the arms of the sofa and along the back of the seat. The floor is carpeted in the same colour, and the back wall of the room is painted to match. A painting, or perhaps a mirror, hangs on the wall, its frame blending with the general colour scheme, but no imagery (or reflections) can be made out.

In the midst of this apparently comfortable setting, a woman lies across the sofa. Her dress is a restrained grey, with black details and a black underskirt. The bodice is well tailored and close fitting, while the skirt has a fashionable bustle. Black lace trims the hems of the overskirt and the cuffs of the bodice, and black fabric hangs from the bustle, on which we can see what look like three black buttons. The effect is severe and understated, although the care with which the outfit has been made implies expense. The only fanciful item would appear to be the long scarf, made of fur the same grey as the dress, which is wrapped around her neck, falls over the seat and down to the floor, where both ends stretch across the carpet.

The woman’s distress is made clear by her body language. She holds a handkerchief to her eyes and buries her face in a cushion. The title of the painting, After the Misdeed, tells us that she has done something wrong. The audience at the end of the nineteenth century would have understood that she is either a married woman who has entered into an adulterous affair, or she is unmarried, but even so has had a sexual liaison. The painting can be read more than one way. It is either moralistic, pointing out the errors of indiscretion, or scandalous, implying enjoyment of the woman’s fall from grace. In any case, it is a very personal drama, with the contrast between the deep red furnishings and the apparently contained grey outfit reminding us that passions can affect even the most restrained.

In some ways it is an unusual painting for Jean Béraud, whose work in the 1880s looked at everyday life in Paris with a sense of humour and even mockery. A good example of this would be a painting of the same date, La pâtisserie Gloppe (Musée Carnavalet, Paris), in which a woman in the right foreground appears to wear a similar dress to the model in After the Misdeed. Béraud was successful, winning a gold medal at the International Exhibition held in Paris in 1889, but in the 1890s he started to paint religious scenes with the characters wearing contemporary dress. This was, in itself, considered scandalous, leaving his reputation somewhat tarnished.