A Bar at the Folies-Bergère

WHAT GREAT PAINTINGS SAY | A snapshot of 19th-century Parisian nightlife has hints of a darker story lurking just beneath the surface

- Édouard Manet

Boredom; resignation; weariness; indifference: the expression on the face of the barmaid waiting to take our drink order could be displaying any and all of these emotions. A snapshot, or so it seems, of late 19th-century Parisian nightlife. But are we seeing the full picture?

"A Bar at the Folies-Bergère is important for many reasons, not least because it was the last major painting that Manet created before his death in 1883," says Dr Karen Serres, curator of paintings at the Courtauld Gallery in London. "Manet had long been considered a controversial artist, but by 1882, the Impressionist movement had become well-known and Manet's works had become more accepted; this piece was exhibited in the Salon de 1882 the official annual exhibition of the French Academy of Fine Arts in Paris - where it hung alongside other scenes of daily life.  It was very well received, but its complex perspectives and intriguing subject matter show that, whilst his work had become more widely accepted, Manet was still able to confound the artistic establishment."

REFLECTING REALITY