A Bar at the Folies-Bergère

from the sources

• Manet's A Bar at the Folies-Bergère was painted in 1882 and shown at the Paris Salon that same year. en.wikipedia.org

  “It was painted in 1882 and exhibited at the Paris Salon of that year.”

• The painting first belonged to the composer Emmanuel Chabrier, a close friend of Manet, who hung it over his piano. en.wikipedia.org

  “The painting originally belonged to the composer Emmanuel Chabrier, a close friend of Manet, and hung over his piano.”

• The painting is now in the Courtauld Gallery in London. en.wikipedia.org

  “It is now in the Courtauld Gallery in London.”

• In 2000, art historian Malcolm Park staged a reconstruction showing that the perspective of the painting is physically possible. en.wikipedia.org

  “In 2000, however, art historian Malcolm Park proved the perspective was physically possible by staging a reconstruction shown to reproduce the scene as painted by Manet.”

• The beer bottles in the painting are identified as Bass Pale Ale by the red triangle on the label. en.wikipedia.org

  “The beer bottles depicted are easily identified by the red triangle on the label as Bass Pale Ale”

• The barmaid is described as a real person named Suzon, who worked at the Folies-Bergère in the early 1880s. en.wikipedia.org

  “The woman at the bar is a real person, known as Suzon, who worked at the Folies-Bergère in the early 1880s.”

• Although Manet sketched at the Folies-Bergère, the final painting was made entirely in his studio, where the barmaid Suzon posed. courtauld.ac.uk

  “However, the final work was painted entirely in his studio, where a barmaid named Suzon came to pose.”

• The Courtauld says the busy background scene is a reflection in the large gold-framed mirror. courtauld.ac.uk

  “This animated scene is in fact a reflection in the large gold-framed mirror, which projects it into the viewer’s own space.”