In Paris's liveliest music hall, a young barmaid stands behind the counter, tired and remote; the great mirror behind her reflects the crowded hall, the chandeliers and a gentleman in a top hat. Yet the reflection never quite adds up. It was Manet's last major painting before his death, and one of modern art's most intriguing puzzles.
Key facts
- Artist
- Édouard Manet1832–1883 · French
- Date
- 1882
- Period
- Impressionism1860–1890
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 96 × 130 cm
- Location
- The Courtauld Gallery London, United Kingdom
Actual size
Compared with an adult 170 cm tall
Palette
#6F6B65#1B2023#494643#938B82#ACACA4Background
The Folies-Bergère was one of the most famous music halls of late nineteenth-century Paris, offering acrobatics, song, dance and circus acts to an audience from every class. The barmaids sold drinks but were sometimes regarded as available for purchase themselves, an ambiguous position.
The model was Suzon, who really worked at the Folies-Bergère. Manet set up a bar in his studio and had her pose behind it. By then he was seriously ill and could barely walk, often painting seated.
The painting was shown at the 1882 Salon; Manet died the following year, aged fifty-one. It first belonged to his close friend, the composer Emmanuel Chabrier, who hung it above his piano. The British industrialist Samuel Courtauld bought it in 1926, and it is now in the Courtauld Gallery in London.
Technique & composition
The great puzzle is the mirror: appears far to the right, nowhere near where it should be; and speaking to her in the mirror, if he stood before her, would be exactly where we are standing. Manet seems deliberately to defy the logic of optics.
The counter in front is a superb still life: , champagne, and , all painted with quick, exact strokes. in the mirror are blurred, creating a lively, hazy atmosphere.
Details
Symbolism
Alone in the crowd
stares straight ahead with an empty gaze, in sharp contrast to the bustle behind her. She embodies modern urban alienation: surrounded by people, yet truly seen by no one.
Commodities and desire
The drinks, fruit and flowers on the counter are all for sale, and the barmaid stands among them like another item on display. The picture quietly exposes the ambiguous relation of people and goods in modern consumer society.
Stories
- Did you know?
belongs to a trapeze artist in mid-performance; only a sliver is visible, reminding us of the spectacle going on in the hall.
- Did you know?
Manet wrote his signature and date, “Manet 1882”, on , as if the painter too were a brand on sale.
- Did you know?
In 2000 the art historian Malcolm Park restaged the scene and photographed it, showing that the reflection is possible if the viewer stands off to the right and the man is actually outside the picture to the left. The puzzle is still debated.
Legacy
A Bar at the Folies-Bergère gathers modern city life, consumer culture and visual uncertainty into one image and is regarded as a milestone of modern painting. Its play with mirrors and looking has inspired countless later artists and theorists.
