The Casino at Monte-Carlo is a belle-epoque masterpiece designed by Charles Garnier in 1878 and decorated by a large team of primarily French artists. It is no surprise that Garnier's friend Boulanger was among those who contributed to the decoration of the building's interiors, including the ceiling of the theater at the Casino.
The room measures 20 meters square, with a ceiling 19 meters high, and contains seats for 600. Bronze caryatids flank the door, while allegorical figures of Literature (painted by Eugene-Antoine Aizelin) and Music (painted by Bayard de la Vingterie) decorate the walls. The vaulted ceiling contains compositions devoted to Song (by Auguste Feyen-Perrin), Instrumental Music by Boulanger, Dance (by Jules Clairin), Comedy (by Theodore Lix), as well as sculptural figures between the canvases by J. Thomas. Boulanger's male brass instrument players are among the few figures not female nudes. Boulanger also painted canvases for the Salle de Danse in the Casino.
The painting is on the curved portion of the ceiling in the proscenium. The figures are located in the far left of the composition. The boy playing the long trumpet is in the uppermost corner, nearly blocked by a palm frond held by the stucco figure at the corner. The older man playing the horn is only partly visible in the background.
Stamped with facsimile signature in light brown ink at lower left, "G. Boulanger" (Lugt 5633). Inscribed on verso in graphite, "Etude faire le / plafond du Théatre Monte Carlo".
Thayer, John M. (John MacLane), 1944-2004, former owner.