# A Night Class

- By: Jehan-Georges Vibert (French, 1840–1902)
- Date: c. 1881
- Medium: oil on wood panel
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: Framed: 97.2 x 82.5 x 12.5 cm (38 1/4 x 32 1/2 x 4 15/16 in.); Unframed: 60.8 x 45.4 cm (23 15/16 x 17 7/8 in.)
- Culture: France, 19th century
- Credit line: Bequest of Noah L. Butkin
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1980.292)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/cma/1980.292/1980.292_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Kids profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

The artist himself described his painting of a night class: "Under smoldering electric lights, a model in historical costume poses for eager, ambitious art students. A few of them might have real talent, some could become commercial artists, but most, unfortunately, have no future in art at all." Although trained in a conservative academic style, Vibert here pokes fun at his own artistic tradition. Vibert was fond of caricaturing the pretentious elements of 19th-century French society. The work was shown at the 1881 Salon exhibition.