Essays on paintings by Manet. Impressionist paintings of the Folies Bergere - a modern platform for creativity
Edouard Manet. Bar at the Folies Bergere. 1882 Courtauld Institute of Art, London.
Edouard Manet painted his painting “Bar at the Folies Bergere” towards the end of his life, being already a very sick man. Despite his illness, he created a painting that is different from all his previous works.
Basically, his work is unambiguous and concise. “The bar at the Folies Bergere, on the contrary, contains a number of mysteries that haunt the caring observer.
The painting depicts a bar saleswoman in the still famous cafe-variety show “Foli Bergere” (Paris, rue Richet, 32).
The artist loved to spend time here, so the environment was very familiar to him. This is what the cafe looks like in reality:
Cafe-cabaret “Foli Bergere” in Paris today 
Cafe-cabaret “Foli Bergere” in Paris today (interior) The girl is real and through the looking glass
The main mystery is the difference between what a bar looks like and what a saleswoman looks like foreground pictures compared to their display in the rear mirror.
Notice how thoughtful and even sad the saleswoman is. It seems that she even has tears in her eyes. In a variety show environment, she is expected to smile and flirt with visitors.
By the way, this is what happens in the reflection of the mirror. The girl leaned slightly towards the male buyer and judging by the slight distance between them, their conversation was intimate.
Edouard Manet. Bar in the Folies Bergere (fragment). 1882 Courtauld Institute of Art, London. Unusual signature of the painting
The bottles on the bar counter also differ in their location from those displayed in the mirror.
By the way, Manet put the date of the painting and his signature right on one of the bottles (the leftmost bottle of rose wine): Manet. 1882.
Edouard Manet. Bar in the Folies Bergere (fragment). 1882 Courtauld Institute of Art, London. What did Manet want to tell us with these riddles? Why does the girl in front of us even have a different figure from the one shown in the mirror? Why do objects on the bar counter change their position in reflection?
Who posed for Manet?
A real saleswoman named Suzon from the Folies Bergere cafe posed for the artist. The girl was well known to Mana. 2 years before painting the original painting, he painted her portrait.
It was common practice for artists to have a portrait of the model in case she refused to pose. So that there is always an opportunity to finish the picture.
Edouard Manet. Model for the painting “Bar at the Folies Bergere”. 1880 Museum of Art at the Palace of the Dukes of Bourgogne, Dijon, France. Perhaps Susan shared her life story, and Manet decided to depict her inner state and the role of a coquette that she is forced to play behind the bar?
Or maybe what is happening in the present time is captured in front of us, and the girl’s past is reflected in the reflection, and therefore the image of the objects is different?
If we continue this fantasy, we can assume that in the past the girl became too close to the depicted gentleman. And she found herself in a position. It is known that saleswomen in such variety shows were called girls who “serve both drinks and love.”
The gentleman, of course, did not break off his legal marriage because of the girl. And as often happens in such stories, the girl found herself alone in her arms with a child.
She is forced to work in order to somehow survive. Hence the sadness and sadness in her eyes.
X-ray of the painting
Another unusual and hidden detail we can see the pictures thanks to x-ray. It can be seen that in the original version of the picture the girl keeps her arms crossed on her stomach.
"... At the Salon of 1881, Manet received a long-awaited award - a second medal for the portrait of Pertuise, the lion hunter. Now Manet becomes an artist “out of competition” and has the right to exhibit his works without the consent of the Salon jury.
Manet hopes to do "something" for the 1882 Salon - for the first Salon, where his paintings will appear with the mark "V.K." ("out of competition"). He won't miss this!
But now, when fame, won with such difficulty, has finally come to him, will its gifts really fall into powerless hands? Is it really just when he will finally be rewarded for his labors and hardships? will it all be over?.. Manet’s illness is progressing inexorably; he knows this, and sadness gnaws at him, and his eyes become clouded with tears. Live! Live! Mane resists. Will his will really not be able to overcome the disease?..
Mane gathers all his will. They want to bury him too early. And now you can meet him in the cafe “New Athens”, at Tortoni’s, in the cafe Bad, in the Folies Bergere; with friends, I'll give them half the world. And he always jokes, ironizes, and has fun about his sore leg, his “infirmities.” Manet wants to implement a new plan: new scene Parisian life, view of the Folies Bergere bar - the lovely Suzon at the counter lined with wine bottles; Suzon, who is well known to all regular visitors to this place.
"Bar at the Folies Bergere" is a work of picturesque subtlety and extraordinary courage: the blonde Suzon at the bar; behind there is a large mirror, which reflects the hall and the audience filling it. Around her neck is the same black velvet that Olympia had, she is also bewitchingly motionless, her gaze is cold, it excites with its indifference to the surroundings.
This the most complex work moving forward with difficulty. Mane fights over it, redoing it many times. In May 1882, he knows happiness, contemplating in the Salon "Spring" and "Bar at the Folies Bergere", accompanied by a sign "V.K." People no longer laugh at his paintings. If some people still allow themselves to criticize them, if, for example, the construction of the “Bar” with its mirror and the play of reflections is considered too complex and is called a “rebus,” then all the same, MAnet’s paintings are considered seriously, carefully, they are argued about as works of art, to be taken into account. However, the sign "V.K." inspires respect from the public. By the will of these two letters, Manet becomes a recognized artist; These letters call for reflection, encourage sympathies (previously they did not dare to express them out loud), silence hostile mouths..."
“In his last great work, “The Bar at the Folies Bergere,” the artist seemed to say goodbye to the life that he valued so much, about which he thought so much and which he never tired of admiring. Perhaps never before has the master’s worldview expressed itself in a separate work with such completeness. It contains love for man, for his spiritual and pictorial poetry, and attention to his complex relationships with others that are imperceptible to a superficial glance, and a feeling of the fragility of existence, and a feeling of bright joy when in contact with the world, and the irony that arises when observing it." The bar at the Folies Bergere" absorbed everything that Manet, with such persistence and conviction, sought, found and affirmed in an unremarkable life. Best images, included in his work, intertwined together to be embodied in this young girl standing behind the counter of a noisy Parisian tavern. Here, where people seek joy in contact with their own kind, where apparent joy reigns, the sensitive master rediscovers the image young life immersed in sad loneliness. The world surrounding the girl is hectic and multifaceted. Manet understands this and, in order to listen to only one voice, especially close to him, makes this world sound again “mutely” - to become an unsteady reflection in the mirror, to turn into an unclear, blurry haze of silhouettes, faces, spots and lights. The illusory duality of vision revealed to the artist physically, as it were, introduces the girl to the tinsel atmosphere of the bar, but not for long. Mane does not allow her to merge with this world, to dissolve in it. He forces her to internally switch off even from a conversation with a random visitor, whose prosaic appearance is also taken in by the mirror located right behind the counter, where the barmaid herself is seen from the back at an angle. As if starting from that reflection, Manet returns us to the only true reality of this entire ghostly spectacle of the world. The slender figure wrapped in black velvet is surrounded by the light glow of mirrors, a marble counter, flowers, fruits, sparkling bottles. Only she, in this color-light-air flicker, remains the most tangibly real, the most beautiful and irrefutable value. The artist’s brush slows down and rests more tightly on the canvas, the color thickens, and the contours are defined. But the feeling of physical stability of the heroine of the canvas that has finally arisen is not finite: the sad, slightly absent-minded and perplexed look of the girl, immersed in dreams and detached from everything around, again evokes a feeling of the fragility and elusiveness of her condition. The value of her concrete reality should, it seemed, be reconciled with the duality of the world around her. But no, the far from fully exhausted structure of her image continues to excite the imagination, evoke poetic associations in which sadness is mixed with joy.
It's hard to believe that "Bar" was created by a dying man, to whom every movement caused severe suffering. But it is so. Even before his death, Edouard Manet remained a fighter, just as in life he was a fighter against bourgeois vulgarity, philistine laziness of thoughts and feelings, a man of rare soul and intelligence. He passed hard way before I discovered the true beauty I was looking for in modern life: he wanted to open it and discovered it in simple, inconspicuous people, finding in them that inner wealth to which he gave his heart."
Based on materials from the book “Edouard Manet” by A. Perryucho and the afterword by M. Prokofieva. - M.: TERRA - Book club. 2000. - 400 pp., 16 pp. ill.
The legendary cabaret Folies Bergère, which will soon celebrate its 150th anniversary, is located in the very center of Paris near Montmartre. The cabaret building, built by the architect Plumre on the model of the Alhambra Theater in London, is easily recognizable thanks to the large panel of a dancer on the façade.
Folies Bergere - a modern platform for creativity
Although the premises of the Folies Bergere have long been in need of some updating and cosmetic repairs, this does not at all reduce the number of its spectators, but rather, on the contrary, adds atmosphere and color. Numerous visitors admire the shimmering gold walls, the expensive interior of the hall in yellow and blue tones and the luxurious staircase leading to auditorium.
One of the oldest Parisian cabarets consistently follows its traditions: concerts are still held here regularly musical groups, vibrant dance shows, performances and comedian performances. The Folies Bergere's repertoire includes a dozen dynamic performances, among which the dance and circus show with elements of eroticism Ohlala, musical performance Jersey Boys and the magic show The Illusionists.
Cabaret history
The date of birth of the Folies Bergère is considered to be May 1, 1869. It was then, at the peak of the popularity of variety shows in Paris, that another establishment was opened, which won the hearts of the Parisian public. However, at that time the cabaret was called Folies Trevise and owed its name to the street rue Trevise, on which the entrance for the establishment’s employees was located. The change of name to Folies Bergere occurred on the initiative of the Duke de Trevize. He was categorically against an establishment of this kind bearing his name, so the cabaret was renamed in honor of the neighboring street rue Bergere. 
In addition to lunch, cabaret visitors paid separately for the performance, during which they were free to move around the hall, smoke and have conversations at their tables. A relaxed atmosphere reigned at the Folies Bergere: with a glass of wine, spectators enjoyed dance and gymnastics performances, as well as magic performances. Over the years Franco-Prussian War the cabaret was temporarily used for meetings at which many speakers famous personalities that period.
The stage of dizzying success of the cabaret began in 1871. After entrepreneur Lyon Sari acquired the Folies Bergere, the establishment's popularity grew rapidly. He organized in concert hall winter Garden and a spacious hall. In 1886 artistic director cabaret Edouard Marchand invented for the famous cabaret new format performances – music hall revue. The show included not only dance elements, but also performances by singers and comedians. Between numbers, entertainers performed on stage with short monologues and parodies of politicians. 
Against the backdrop of the growing popularity of the cabaret, it was decided to almost double the size of the auditorium and decorate the façade with panels in the Art Deco style, created by the sculptor Pico.
Celebrities at the Folies Bergere
The success of the cabaret is evidenced by the fact that famous artist Edouard Manet dedicated one of his works to him. The famous painting “Bar at the Folies Bergère,” painted in 1881, depicts the waitress Suzon, and behind her is a large mirror in which numerous customers are visible.
The music hall has become a launching pad for many famous artists. IN different time singer-actor Maurice Chevalier, actor Jean Gabin, singer Mistenguette, French writer Colette and the great Charlie Chaplin himself. African American Josephine Baker, talented jazz singer and dancer, brought enormous popularity to the establishment at the beginning of the last century, winning the nickname “black pearl” among the audience. 
Comedian Benny Hill, mime actor Marcel Marceau, singers Frank Sinatra, Yves Montand, Elton John and many other celebrities also performed here.
To this day, the Folies Bergere continues to be popular among connoisseurs of the classic cabaret atmosphere, attracting visitors with its bright dance shows and musical performances.
How to get there
Address: 32 Rue Richer, Paris 75009Telephone: +33 1 44 79 98 60
Website: www.foliesbergere.com
Metro: Cadet
Bus: Provence - Faubourg Montmartre, Petites Ecuries
Updated: 08/03/2016
Today we’ll talk about Edouard Manet’s painting BAR AT THE FOLIES BERGÉRE 1882, which became one of famous masterpieces world art.
In 1881, at the French Salon, E. Manet was awarded the long-awaited second award for the portrait of a lion hunter. Pertuise. After which Manet becomes out of competition and can exhibit his paintings without any permission from the Salon jury.
The long-awaited glory comes, but his illness progresses simply inexorably and he knows about it and therefore, he is gnawed by melancholy.
In September 1879, Manet suffered his first acute attack of rheumatism. It soon turned out that he had ataxia - a lack of coordination of movements. The disease progressed rapidly, limiting creative possibilities artist. Mane is trying to resist a serious illness. Will he really not be able to overcome the disease?
WORK ON THE PICTURE.
Mane decides to gather all his strength and will; they are still trying to bury him. He can be seen at the New Athens Café, at the Bud Café, at Tortoni's, at the Folies Bergere and at his girlfriends'. He always tries to joke and be ironic, has fun about his “infirmities” and jokes about his leg.
He decides to carry out his new idea: to draw a scene from everyday Parisian life and depict the view of the famous Folies Bergere bar, in which the lovely girl Suzon stands behind the counter, in front of numerous bottles. The girl is known to many regular visitors to the bar.
The painting “Bar at the Folies Bergere” is a work of extraordinary courage and pictorial subtlety: a blond girl stands behind the bar, behind her is a large mirror, which reflects the large hall of the establishment with the public sitting in it. She wears a black velvet decoration on her neck, her gaze is cold, she is bewitchingly motionless, she looks indifferently at those around her.
This complex plot of the canvas moves forward with great difficulty.
The artist struggles with it and remakes it many times. At the beginning of May 1882, Manet completed the painting and became happy contemplating it in the Salon. Nobody laughs at his paintings anymore; in fact, his paintings are viewed with great seriousness, and people begin to argue about them as real works of art.
Yours last piece“The Bar at the Folies Bergere” was created as if he was saying goodbye to the life that he valued so much, which he admired so much and about which he thought a lot. The work absorbed everything that the artist had been looking for and finding for so long in an unremarkable life.
The best images are woven together to be embodied in this young girl who is standing in a noisy Parisian tavern. In this establishment, people seek joy by contacting their own kind, apparent fun and laughter reign here, a young and sensitive master reveals the image of a young life that is immersed in sadness and loneliness.
It is hard to believe that this work was written by a dying artist, to whom any movement of his hand caused pain and suffering. But even before his death, Edouard Manet remains a real fighter. He had to go through a difficult life path before he discovered the true beauty that he had been searching for all his life and found it in ordinary people, finding in their soul an inner richness to which he gave his heart.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PICTURE
The canvas depicts one of the most famous cabarets in Paris at the end of the nineteenth century. This is the artist's favorite place.
Why did he love going there so much? Bright life the capital was Manet's preference over the calm regularity of everyday life. He felt better in this cabaret than at home.
Apparently, Manet made sketches and preparations for the painting right in the bar. This bar was located on the first floor of the variety show. Sitting to the right of the stage, the artist began to make blanks for the canvas. Afterwards, he turned to the barmaid and his good friend, asking me to pose for him in his studio.
The basis of the composition was to be Manet's friend and the barmaid, facing each other. They should be passionate about communicating with each other. Found sketches by Manet confirm this master's plan.
But Manet decided to make the scene a little more significant than it was. In the background was a mirror displaying the crowds of customers filling the bar. Opposite all these people, the barmaid stood, she was thinking about her own things, being behind the bar counter. Even though there is fun and noise all around, the bartender has nothing to do with the crowd of visitors, she is soaring in her own thoughts. But on the right you can see, as if her own image, only she is talking with one visitor. How to understand this?
Apparently, the picture in the mirror is the events of the past minutes, but in reality what is depicted is that the girl was thinking about the conversation that happened a few minutes ago.
If you look at the bottles standing on the marble bar counter, you will notice that their reflection in the mirror does not match the original. The barmaid's reflection is also unreal. She looks directly at the viewer, while in the mirror she is facing the man. All these inconsistencies make the viewer wonder whether Manet depicted a real or imaginary world.
Although the picture is very simple in plot, it makes every viewer think and come up with something of their own. Manet conveyed the contrast between a cheerful crowd and a lonely girl among the crowd.
Also in the picture you can see a society of artists, with their muses, aesthetes and their ladies. These people are in the left corner of the canvas. One woman is holding binoculars. This reflects the essence of a society that wants to look at others and expose itself to them. At the top left corner you can see the acrobat's legs. Both the acrobat and the crowd of people having fun can’t brighten up the loneliness and sadness of the barmaid.
The date and signature of the master is displayed on the label of one of the bottles, which is in the lower left corner.
The peculiarity of this painting by Manet is its in a deep sense, many characters, and secrecy. Usually the artist’s paintings did not differ in such characteristics. This same picture conveys many depths of human thoughts. In the cabaret there are people of different origins and status. But all people are equal in their desire to have fun and have a good time.
Text with illustrations and discussion of the painting. http://maxpark.com/community/6782/content/3023062
Painting "Bar at the Folies Bergere" was presented by Edouard Manet at the famous Paris Salon at an exhibition in 1882, just one year before his death. This last major work was the culmination of his interest in scenes of urban leisure, and at the same time, it remains the most mysterious picture French master. The masterpiece, written more than 100 years ago, still causes controversy among art critics and inspires artists.
History of the Folies Bergere variety show
Entertainment establishments called "folies" ( folies), appeared in France in late XVIII century. Unlike cafes, you had to pay for entry, and not just for what you ate and drank. But, unlike the theater, here you were allowed to freely enter and exit during the performance, drink and smoke. Typically, establishments were named according to the name of the street on which they were located. However, the owner of the entertainment establishment, located at the intersection of Richer and Trevize streets, wanted to avoid associations with the Duke of Trevize (Napoleonic marshal), and therefore gave the place the name of the neighboring Bergere street. This is how entertainment foley appeared, which in the future became the famous Parisian cabaret "Foli Bergere" (Folies Bergère). It is located at 32 rue Richet, 9th arrondissement of Paris. After two reconstructions of the facade, the cabaret externally retained its historical appearance, although it looked fresher.
All kinds of performances were held on the stage of this entertainment establishment, which opened its doors in 1869. In the first years of its existence, gymnasts performed here, staged comic operas, song and dance numbers. In fact, the establishment was more like a circus. In the 1880s–90s, local stage celebrities included the Indian snake charmer Nala Damazhanti (actually the dark-skinned French-born Emily Poupon), and the only black wild-door tamer, Joseph Ledger, who performed under the pseudonym Delmonico. The Folies Bergere was visited on tour by a young and then unknown clown-trainer from the circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, Vladimir Durov. The “King of the Revolver”, the American shooter Ira Payne, demonstrated his skills in foley, performing the William Tell trick together with his beautiful wife.
Using a primitive projector, the public was even shown short films: the illusionist brothers Izola in 1895 were among the first to appreciate the invention of the Lumière brothers. True, entrepreneurship turned out to be more interesting than cinema: at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, they began buying and selling real estate. (It is noteworthy that in 1901 the brothers also purchased the premises of the Folies Bergere).
The Folies Bergere became one of the popular nightclubs in Paris, where admission cost only two francs. (By the way, he was “visited” more than once by the heroes of the novel “Dear Friend” French writer Guy de Maupassant).
But true success came in 1918, when Paul Derval became the manager of the club. He came up with the brilliant idea of not only diversifying the productions, but also making them spectacular by bringing dancers “without complexes” onto the stage. They became the main characters of the outspoken Show Girls with their fiery and frivolous cancan.
In addition, many performed here famous artists: from Charlie Chaplin and Marcel Marceau to Edith Piaf and Josephine Baker.
The latter, no less than the cancan dancers, attracted the audience with her shocking image on stage, where at the beginning of the 20th century the girl performed dances in revealing and extravagant outfits. The most famous example is her banana skirt, which she wore on stage at the Folies Bergere variety show. (Pictured: Josephine Baker, Folies Bergere cabaret, 1920s).
Barmaid from the Folies Bergere variety show.
Paris is generally considered the city of love. That's just " love, love and love"can represent three concepts, as the puppet entertainer of the theater S. Obraztsov said in one reprise. And this was well known to representatives of Parisian bohemia. Artists sometimes depicted “priestesses of love” of various kinds in their paintings, although this caused a flurry of reproaches and criticism from puritan-minded compatriots.
For example, Renoir painted a wonderful canvas “Mother Anthony's Tavern” (1866), depicting a real tavern where he and his friends dined. In the picture, Sisley, Pissarro, Cezanne are sitting around the table, a little further away is the owner of the tavern herself (from the back), and their table is served by the maid Nana - a girl who generously gave her body to everyone, thus working part-time in the rooms of the hotel residents where the artists stayed. The image of the "fallen girl" in Auguste Renoir's painting immediately drew the ire of critics.
The subjects of some of Edouard Manet's paintings were also perceived with scandal. The public considered his paintings and Olympia, in which he used nudity, great audacity. Manet's contemporaries found his paintings extremely obscene and vulgar.
Obviously, for Edouard Manet, public condemnation did not play a decisive role. Otherwise, he would not have dared to put the barmaid from the Folies Bergere, suspected of immorality, at the center of the composition of the last painting in his life.
Writer Guy de Maupassant once called the barmaid from the Folies Bergere cabaret “ sellers of drinks and love " All Parisian ladies' men who attended shows with cancan-dancing girls knew about the variety show's attraction, which was less public but more accessible than expensive courtesan dancers. It was about barmaids/barmaids - naive simpletons recruited from the suburbs of Paris.
Tipsy and excited by the sight of half-naked bodies on stage, dapper gentlemen often flirted with them, seduced girls or bought their love. After which, having fun, they were thrown away like unnecessary toys. Humiliated girls usually became prostitutes with an unhappy fate. According to some art critics, it is precisely this moment of communication that is captured in the painting. "Bar in the Folies-Berge" written by Edouard Manet in 1882.
In the mirror, behind the standing barmaid, you can see that a wealthy, mustachioed gentleman in a bowler hat is talking to her about something. From the confused expression on her flushed face and sad look, one can judge that the conversation does not give her pleasure. The girl somewhat resembles a defenseless victim. However, her face and posture express dignity, despite her low social status. She looks like she's deep in thought. Perhaps her child is sick, she has nothing to pay for rent and other everyday troubles. Therefore, she hesitates and is afraid of both at the same time. Some art critics generally believed that the face of the barmaid, depicted by Edouard Manet, was more mysterious than the portrait of the Mona Lisa.
The large medallion on the barmaid’s neck, surrounded by a lace collar, also evokes thoughts about her secrets, which the viewer can only guess about.
The barmaid's condition is shaded by noisy fun in a huge hall filled with beautifully dressed women and men in hats. All of them are illuminated by the lights of a multi-tiered chandelier dominating the upper part of the picture. The women on the balcony are especially highlighted: one of them in orange gloves, her neighbor with binoculars, and a lady in a hat and dress with a low neckline, standing nearby with them. (But almost no one notices in the very top corner of the picture on the left, an aerialist on a trapeze, wearing green shoes).
The mystery of Manet's painting
In addition to its emotional intensity, the film is a real visual puzzle. Manet, like a clever illusionist, made the backdrop of the painting a huge mirror. This is why the composition acquired multidimensionality. The mirror creates the illusion of volume, although the viewer guesses it rather than sees it.
Compositionally, the painting is structured so that the barmaid looks directly at the viewer, while the mirror behind her reflects the large hall and visitors to the Folies Bergere cabaret. It seems that Manet painted the image of the barmaid while standing right in front of her. In the reflection behind the girl, we see supposedly her talking to a gentleman in a bowler hat. However, this is contradicted by the reflections of the objects - neither the aerialist barely indicated in the upper left corner, nor the girl’s mustachioed interlocutor, based on the perspective, should not have been visible due to their location relative to the point of view of the draftsman. And the figure of the barmaid, reflected in the mirror, seems fuller and more animatedly talking with her boyfriend. This is noticeable by the tilt of her body towards the mustachioed gentleman. The doubt rightly arises: is this the same girl?
At first glance, it seems that the experienced painter made obvious graphic inconsistencies when painting the picture. But it’s hard to believe, since it can be argued that Edouard Manet carefully practiced the trick with mirror images long years. The most clearly constructed looking glass is noticeable in Manet’s painting depicting his wife playing music. Here you can notice the use of the effect of mirroring an invisible object. The mirror reflects another mirror hanging above the fireplace on the opposite wall of the room:
Elements of deliberate “parody mirroring” can be seen in his paintings “In a Cafe” and “Beer Peddler,” where he places images of Degas dancers in the background of artistic cafes. They are so skillfully integrated into the composition that they can easily be confused with reflections in a mirror.
In a word, assumptions about the erroneous construction of the painting “Bar at the Folies Bergere” do not have strong justification. Moreover, its other details are drawn with great pedantry. For example, the labels on the bottles are accurate. To the right of the bottle of red wine, which wine experts identify as Provencal Bordeaux, you can see a brown bottle with a red triangle on the label. This is the logo Bass Brewery- the first British patented beer. The company was founded in 1777 and still produces its beer.
By the way, the characters depicted in the picture are also real. Art historians have determined that the lady in orange gloves sitting in the front row on the balcony is Mary Laurent, the kept woman of a wealthy dentist and a friend of Proust, Manet and Zola. (The latter brought her out in the form main character in the novel "Nana"). A little behind her stands Jeanne de Marcy, an actress and model for Renoir and Manet. And the green shoes visible at the top right belonged to the aerialist, American Katharina Jones, who performed at the Folies Bergere in 1881.
Art historians are still making all sorts of guesses about what is happening in the painting by Edouard Manet. " The author initially makes us believe that we are looking at a young barmaid standing in front of her mirror image. But looking closely, it turns out that this is not so. Thus, from the very beginning we are confused, and are forced to look elsewhere for clues. ».
It seems that the first version of the same painting, drawn by Edouard Manet a year earlier, could help in this confusing issue. This version of the painting was also called "Bar at the Folies Bergere" and was sold at auction in 1995 for $26.7 million. But this picture was created in a completely different spirit and mood.
The model for this version was a completely different woman. And she, with her unnaturally yellow hair, slouch, arms crossed on her stomach and obvious fatigue, looks like a real elderly bartender. It does not contain the mystery that the girl with the medallion and sad eyes, who appeared in the picture a year later, personifies.
In general, as always, opinions are divided. Some researchers, relying on technical capabilities, argue that such a composition of the picture cannot exist in real life. Although, analysis of the picture in x-rays showed that in the final version Manet deliberately shifted the woman’s reflection in the mirror a little closer to the figure of the suitor.
Art historians also worked with this picture, like real detectives, trying to find a solution, some logical and natural explanations. And in the end they decided that they were not there.
But others believe that the distortions were made by the author on purpose, supposedly to show two sides of the barmaid’s character. In the reflection, she flirts, leaning toward the customer across the counter. But in an ordinary perspective, she is immersed in her thoughts and does not seem to care about the noisy crowd.
Each side has dozens more arguments for and against. Obviously, the sad Madonna of modernism, created by Edouard Manet in 1882, will remain as much of a mystery as the smiling Mona Lisa, painted several centuries earlier.
U famous painting there is not only personal page on Wikipedia, books have been written about her, scientific works and articles, as well as several films have been shot, dissecting the final work of Edouard Manet to its bones. For example, there is a dissertation by Australian art critic Malcolm Park ( Malcom Park), written by him on the topic “ Ambiguity, or the Clash of Spatial Illusions on the Surface of Manet’s Paintings”, in which a thorough study of the painting was carried out in various aspects
Although, in Perhaps it will be enough to watch/listen to a 15-minute video in which art historian Ilya Doronchenkov talks about the painting “Bar at the Folies Bergere”:
The famous painting could not help but attract the attention of postmodernists, for whom any noticeable art form becomes a “source of building materials.” By putting everything in a playful, ironic form, this style was able to level the distance between the mass and elite consumers, and reduced elite art to pop culture. The mysterious composition of the painting by Edouard Manet did not escape this fate. Here are some examples of her ironic remakes.
