This extraordinary painting is a masterpiece from Valtat's early career. It illustrates the artist's interest in the work of Toulouse-Lautrec, which may have stemmed from their collaboration in the set design for the Théâtre de l'Oeuvre, where Alfred Jarry's proto-Dada play Ubu Roi would soon premiere. Taking up the subject of fin-de-siècle Paris with expressive brushstrokes and wild colors executed on paper, the medium preferred by Toulouse-Lautrec, Valtat captures the bohemian district of Montmartre at the height of its cultural influence. The setting for this lively nightlife scene is possibly the Moulin de la Galette, a venue that attracted artists, poets and other celebrities, where they could observe and be observed. The figure at extreme right, depicted in profile, is reminiscent of Toulouse-Lautrec's caricature-like portraits of Yvette Guilbert and other stars of the stage. This phase in Valtat's career was short-lived, and he quickly moved on to pioneer his own artistic style that lay between Impressionism, with its lyrical evocation of shifting light and atmosphere,