Born in 1852 in Reims, Marne, French Impressionist painter, lithographer, watercolorist and etcher Jean-Louis Forain enrolled at the École des Beaux Arts and studied under Jean-Léon Gérôme and sculptor/painter, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux.

A follower and protégé of Degas, Forain joined the Impressionist circle in time to take part in the fourth independent exhibition in 1879, and participated in three of the four landmark shows that followed between 1879 and 1884. Influenced by Impressionist theories on light and color, Forain preferred to depict scenes of everyday life focusing on Parisian popular entertainments and themes of modernity—the racetrack, ballet, comic opera, and bustling cafés.

Forain was a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. His work is held in collections throughout the world including at the Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Modern Art, New York, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Musee d'Orsay, Hirshhorn Museum, Tate Gallery and National Gallery, London.