A Bar at the Folies-Bergère

Maker

(Artists)
1832-1883

Title

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère

Date of Production

1882

Dimensions

Height: 96 cm (canvas)
Width: 130 cm (canvas)

Accession Number

P.1934.SC.234

Mode of Acquisition

Samuel Courtauld, gift, 1934

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Location

On display

Keywords








trapezes



Label Text

This celebrated work is Édouard Manet’s last major painting, completed a year before he died. At one of the bars in the Folies-Bergère — a popular Parisian music hall — wine, champagne and British Bass beer with its red triangle logo await customers. A fashionable crowd mingles on the balcony. The legs and green boots of a trapeze artist in the upper left hint at the exciting musical and circus acts entertaining the audience. This animated background is in fact a reflection in the large gold-framed mirror, which projects it into the viewer’s own space.

Manet made sketches on-site but painted this work entirely in his studio, where a barmaid named Suzon came to pose. She is the painting’s still centre. Her enigmatic expression is unsettling, especially as she appears to be interacting with a male customer. Ignoring normal perspective, Manet shifted their reflection to the right. The bottles on the left are similarly misaligned in the mirror. This play of reflections emphasises the disorientating atmosphere of the Folies-Bergère. In this work, Manet created a complex and absorbing composition that is considered one of the iconic paintings of modern life.

Provenance

Inventory prepared after Manet’s death 1883, no 9; Manet Studio Sale, Drouot, Paris, 4-5 February 1884 (lot 7), bought Chabrier; Emmanuel Chabrier; Chabrier Sale, Drouot, Paris, 26 March 1896 (lot 8); Paul Durand-Ruel, Paris, 1897; Auguste Pellerin, Paris; Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, and Paul Cassirer, Berlin; Eduard Arnhold, Berlin; Baron Ferenc Hatvany, Budapest, by 1919; Justin K Thannauser, Munich; Eric Goeritz, Berlin; Thannhauser Gallery, Lucerne; through The Independent Gallery, London; purchased by Samuel Courtauld, March 1926; Courtauld Gift, 1934.

Exhibition History

Masterpieces of Impressionism from The Courtauld Gallery, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan, 10/09/2019-15/12/2019; Aichi Prefectural Museum, Nagoya, Japan, 03/01/2020-15/03/2020; Kobe City Museum, Kobe, Japan, 28/03/2020-21/06/2020

The Courtauld Collection. A Vision for Impressionism, Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris, 20/02/2019-17/06/2019

Courtauld Impressionists: From Manet to Cezanne, National Gallery, London, 17/09/2018-20/01/2019 ...More

Part of general displays, Los Angeles & California & USA, 05/06/2007-09/09/2007

Manet - Face to Face, Neuepinakothek, Munich, Germany, 20/01/2005-10/04/2005

Manet - Face to Face, The Courtauld Gallery & Somerset House & London & England, 14/10/2004-09/01/2005

Manet at the Prado, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 13/10/2003-08/02/2004

Into the 20th century - New Displays at the Courtauld, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 10/10/2002

The Courtauld Collection: Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 14/06/1998-21/09/1998

The Courtauld Collection, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, 26/12/1997-12/05/1998

Manet - Centenary Exhibition, New York & USA, 10/09/1983-27/11/1983

Manet - Centenary Exhibition, Grand Palais & Paris & France, 22/04/1983-01/08/1983

Manet and his circle, Tate Gallery, London, 1954 ...Less

Literature

The Courtauld Collection: Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, Art Gallery of Ontario, 1998

Manet and his circle, Tate Gallery, London, 1954
cat. no. 16

Inscriptions

Inscription: Manet / 1882

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