This was Manet’s final masterpiece and it’s one of the most mysterious paintings ever made. It shows a barmaid named Suzon standing behind a marble counter, but the reflection in the mirror behind her doesn't quite make sense. The perspective is shifted and it creates a feeling of disconnection and alienation. She’s surrounded by the glitter and the noise of the Paris nightlife, but she looks like she’s a million miles away.
Suzon’s expression is tired and vacant. She is the only still point in a world of frantic movement. Manet was dying when he painted this, and you can feel the weight of his mortality in the way he handles the light and the reflections. He was a master of the fleeting moment and he captured the loneliness that lives in the heart of the modern city.
The painting is a celebration of the artificial and the temporary. The bottles of beer and the bowl of oranges are painted with a incredible skill, but they’re just props in a larger play. It’s a haunting and beautiful work that sums up everything Manet believed about the world. He was the ultimate observer and he left us with a question that we’re still trying to answer.
Bibliography
Armstrong, Carol. Manet Manette. Yale University Press 2002.
Collins, Bradford R. 12 Views of Manet's Bar. Princeton University Press 1996.
The Courtauld Gallery. A Bar at the Folies-Bergère. Research Portal 2024.