Walter Sickert
(1860 - 1942)

Walter Richard Sickert  was a German-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on distinctively British styles of avant-garde art in the mid and late 20th century.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Sickert

The Old Bedford
1895
Oil on canvas
76.3 x 60.5 cm
National Museums Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
https://fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/explore-our-collection/highlights/2458

Following the example of Édouard Manet (1832 – 1883) and Edgar Degas (1834 – 1917) and their paintings of Parisian cafes and theatres, Sickert painted the raucous nightlife of London’s music halls throughout his career. He was a regular visitor at the Bedford Music Hall in Camden Town, the subject of this painting. Sickert may have intended it as a sequel to his earlier picture of the child performer Little Dot Hetherington on the stage of the Bedford, in which she is shown pointing to this spot while singing the popular song, “The Boy I Love is up in the Gallery”. As well as recording vividly the atmosphere and setting of a late 19th century performance, this is a brilliant exercise in lighting and composition. Sickert exploits the contrast between the shadowy auditorium and the reflected glare of the stage, and creates tricks of space and perspective by means of the giant mirror on the left.