DAY 265

A PICTURE’S WORTH 1000 200 WORDS

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère

EDOUARD MANET, 1881-1882

In A Bar at the Folies-Begère, Edouard Manet’s last major painting, we find ourselves seated across from a woman named Suzon, who really was a bartender at the Folies Bergere café-concert. Similar to L’Absinthe by Degas (page 192), the highlight of the piece is the woman’s expression. There is a melancholy in her eyes, and we have the distinct impression that she would rather be anywhere but here. What do you think is going through Suzon’s mind?

Some critics claim that the scene behind the bartender is, in fact, a reflection in a mirror. If so, they point out that the reflection isn’t accurate—that it is portrayed at a seemingly illogical angle. But why would Manet do this? Perhaps he means to reveal that Suzon’s world is distorted by her unhappiness and emotional isolation. Or maybe he simply wants to make the composition more balanced. Do you think the background is a mirror image or not?

Another curiosity—rather than signing his name separately on the canvas, Manet placed it on the bottle at the lower left of the painting. Was this a case of subliminal advertising or was it simply a touch of whimsy? —DDG