signed 'F. Eberl' (lower left)oil on canvasPainted between 1935-40 Unframed: 35.1 x 27.1 cm. (13 3/4 x 10 5/8 in.) Framed: 52.8 x 44.8 cm. (20 3/4 x 17 5/8 in.)Provenance:Private Collection, FranceSale; Artcurial, Deauville, 20 August 2010, lot 164, where purchased by the present owner Literature: Gerald Weinpolter & Miriam Forster, François Eberl, Online Catalogue Raisonné, no.G541Notes:František Zdeněk Eberl initially studied in his native Prague before relocating to Munich, finding the conservative nature of the Prague's Academy of Fine Art too restrictive for his developing vision. In 1911, he settled in Montmartre at the very heart of Paris’s bohemian artistic community. Immersing himself in the local nightlife, Eberl moved within the same avant-garde circles as Pablo Picasso and Amedeo Modigliani. This vibrant, nocturnal world quickly became the central subject of his oeuvre. Rather than depicting the polished glamour of the French capital, Eberl was drawn to its marginalised characters, observing patrons, drinkers, gamblers, prostitutes, and those living on the fringes of society. The composition is anchored by a formidable central female figure who immediately commands attention. With a cigarette resting on her lips and her arms firmly folded, she gazes outward with a striking blend of confidence and detachment. Eberl employs masterful chiaroscuro to give her form a substantial sense of volume, deliberately contrasting the warm, yellowish tones of her skin against the deep reds of her blouse and the murky browns of the interior. The treatment of the background further enhances the painting's atmospheric resonance. Rather than rendering every architectural detail, Eberl allows the surrounding furnishings and secondary figures to dissolve into the hazy, smoky environment of the bar. These indistinct silhouettes seem to emerge through the gloom, successfully capturing a specific, gritty social reality that existed firmly alongside the city’s glamour, yet decidedly within its shadows. Eberl's works can be found in the New National Museum of Monaco, Musée des Beaux Arts and National Gallery Prague.