Early in his career Joseph Caraud (1821-1905) was inspired, like many other artists, by Italy and Algeria, basing his early Salon entries on his experience in these countries.
But as his career progressed he became more interested in anecdotal, genre scenes in which elegant women in their luxurious clothing with sumptuous patterning recalled the eighteenth-century style and rendering of details found in paintings by Fragonard, Greuze, and Watteau.
Joseph Caraud was born on January 5th, 1821 in Cluny, in the Saône-et-Loire region of France.