French - Bar at the Folies Bergere

• Artist

  Edouard Manet
• Style

  Realism, oil on canvas
• Date

  1882
• Location

  Courtauld Galleries in London
• State setting & purpose/subject matter

  The piece is set within the Folies-Bergere, a location Manet frequently visited. Due to haussmanisation, this was the first, and became one of the most popular, music halls for entertainment in Paris.

  
  

  Through this, Manet reflects the popular theme of the modernité of working life at the time - the constant changes, instigated by the conjunction of increasing industrialisation and urbanisation. With this, comes excitement and novelty, as Manet creatively intertwines the self-absorbed bourgeois figures with anonymous workers.
• What does he challenge + consequence

  Thus, he challenges the academic style, which favoured more traditional topics, such as mythological paintings such as "The Birth of Venus" by Cabanel.

  
  

  Therefore, it can be argued that “A Bar at the Folies-Bergere” acts as a manifesto of everything Manet believed in, and even entails the exploitative and notorious aspects of working life as well.  
• Give a composition point about the background

  Point: Manet has depicted the distant background of the building’s auditorium in a compact and buzzing manner.

  
  

  Reasoning: The crowd in fancy dress overlap each other (establishing a sense of depth) to mingle whilst being entertained my musical and circus acts seen by the trapeze artist’s green boots within the far top left corner of the piece.  

  
  

  Effect: Captures the viewer's interest from first glance.

  
• Give a composition point about focal point's positioning

  Point: Modelled by a real-life barmaid called Suzon (who worked at the Folies-Bergere), it can be argued that the focal point of the piece is the barmaid.

  
  

  Reasoning: Is positioned on the centre axis in the foreground, using both her bare wrists to lean slightly forward onto the marble countertop.

  
• Give point about about gloves & commodities

  Point: The fact that she is not wearing gloves

  Effect: Could symbolise she is a working woman.

  Point 2: She is surrounded by enticing and expensive items on display in the immediate foreground, such as: wine, champagne, peppermint liqueur and British Bass Beer.

  
• Give composition point about expression

  Point: Manet depicts her as both ennui and disorientated by the changes to working life.

  
  

  Reasoning: Emphasised by her enigmatic expression, as she appears to not be making direct eye contact with the viewer. Her head is slightly tilted to the right, with her gaze directed somewhat downwards.

  
  

  Effect: As if she appears to be unfocussed on the animated scene around her, and instead is engaged within her “own little world”.  

  
• Composition point about man + CT

  P: Gold-framed mirror behind FP manipulate attention to man on RHS

  
  

  R: Possibly self-portrait of M, depicts bourgeois flâneur (new type of person – urbanised male who treats working life as a pleasurable spectacle to be admired) who has approached bar to indulge in commodities offer, in which as unknown women working as barmaid, he thinks she is "one more such objects which money can buy” (T.J Clark)

  
  

  E: Dichotomy in modern working life - an uninterested/depressed woman (both barmaid & maybe prostitute) placed into energetic/demanding environment

  
• Give MTP point

  Point: Manet also uses untraditional, grey thick ebauche-like brushstrokes.

  
  

  Reasoning: Draws attention to different parts of the painting, such as the back of the focal point’s dress, the man’s face and most evidentially the sporadically placed blotches within the background.

  
  

  Effect: Conveys the barmaid’s uncomfortableness with the disorientating newness of working life & highlights Manet’s inspiration from the innovative creations made by the industrial revolution, such as photography.  

  
• Conclusion

  Manet’s success in capturing the modernité of working life, aligning with Baudelaire’s concepts, is highlighted by the fact that it was exhibited in the Salon in 1882 & his work became associated with development of impressionist style.
• Additional conclusion

  Painting this while dying of syphilis, acts as distillation of him attempting to express both the positive & negative essences of modern working life, unlike Osborn.

  Uses multitude of different forms & broken rules to:

  • Depict not only of the indulgence, wealth, and leisure of the increasingly growing middle class.
  • But also the deep ambiguity/anxiousness surrounding the constant changes to society/work brought by industrial revolution.

  Thus, although unsettling to many, it captures what working life truly is — a balance of strengths and weaknesses.