Where Is A Bar at the Folies-Bergère? Museum Location

Q: Where can I see A Bar at the Folies-Bergère?

It's at the National Gallery in London. Édouard Manet painted it in 1882, the year before his death. It was his last major work and is considered one of his finest achievements.

Q: Who is the barmaid?

Her name was Suzon, and she actually worked at the Folies-Bergère. Manet painted her in his studio, not at the venue. Her distant, slightly melancholy expression contrasts with the lively crowd reflected behind her, creating a tension between public spectacle and private isolation.

Q: What style is this painting?

It bridges Impressionism and modern painting. Manet used loose brushwork for the reflected crowd and still-life precision for the bottles. He's often called the father of modern art because his work challenged academic conventions without fully abandoning tradition.

Q: How big is the painting?

It measures 96 cm × 130 cm (37.8 × 51.2 inches). The Folies-Bergère was a famous Parisian music hall and café-concert. Manet captured the bottles, oranges, and flowers on the marble bar with striking detail, almost like a still life within a portrait.

Édouard Manet completed this painting in 1882, just a year before his death at 51. A barmaid stands behind a marble counter at the Folies-Bergère, a famous Parisian music hall known for its lively entertainment and diverse clientele. Bottles of champagne and beer, a bowl of oranges, and a vase of roses fill the bar top with colorful still life details.

The mirror behind the barmaid creates a puzzling reflection that has fascinated viewers for over a century. Her reflection appears displaced to the right, and she seems to be serving a top-hatted gentleman whose corresponding figure should appear in front of us but doesn't. Whether Manet intended this spatial impossibility or simply made compositional choices that defied strict perspective remains debated.

Manet exhibited the work at the Paris Salon of 1882, receiving mixed reviews. Today it hangs in the National Gallery in London, proof of his lasting influence on modern painting.

Manet's last major work, famous for its complex spatial arrangement and the enigmatic expression of the barmaid.

It's at the National Gallery in London. Édouard Manet painted it in 1882, the year before his death. It was his last major work and is considered one of his finest achievements.

The reflection behind the barmaid doesn't match the viewer's perspective. The reflected figure leans toward a man who should be standing where the viewer is, but we don't see him. Art historians have debated this for over a century: intentional ambiguity, spatial experimentation, or simply Manet bending the rules.

Her name was Suzon, and she actually worked at the Folies-Bergère. Manet painted her in his studio, not at the venue. Her distant, slightly melancholy expression contrasts with the lively crowd reflected behind her, creating a tension between public spectacle and private isolation.

It bridges Impressionism and modern painting. Manet used loose brushwork for the reflected crowd and still-life precision for the bottles. He's often called the father of modern art because his work challenged academic conventions without fully abandoning tradition.

It measures 96 cm × 130 cm (37.8 × 51.2 inches). The Folies-Bergère was a famous Parisian music hall and café-concert. Manet captured the bottles, oranges, and flowers on the marble bar with striking detail, almost like a still life within a portrait.

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère

Details

Where to See It

The Artist

Historical Significance

More by Édouard Manet

Lola de Valence

The barque of Dante (Copy after Delacroix)

Portrait of Monsieur and Madame Auguste Manet

The absinthe drinker

Also at National Gallery

The Piazza San Marco towards the Basilica

The Japanis Bridge (Footbridge over the Water-Lily Pond)

Jesus Christ s Body Carried to the Tomb

Miraculous Draught of Fishes

Related Impressionism Works

Water Lilies (Nymphéas)

Woman with a Parasol

Luncheon of the Boating Party

Two Sisters (On the Terrace)

Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1

Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies

Luncheon of the Boating Party

Impression, Sunrise

About A Bar at the Folies-Bergère

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