Mastodawn

Manet's famous painting Un Bar aux Folies-Bergère never appealed to me. But now I realize its genius, and my spine tingles every time I see it.

The perspective looks all wrong. You're staring straight at this barmaid, but her reflection in the mirror is way off to right. Even worse, her reflection is facing a guy who doesn't appear in the main view!

But in 2000, a researcher showed this perspective is actually possible!!! To prove it, he did a photographic reconstruction of this scene. Check it out in my next post.

This blows my mind.

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Michael Ormsby Mar 8

@johncarlosbaez Even though the perspective is demonstrably correct, I wonder why Manet painted this specific composition. Was he trying to make a point with an unbalanced composition? Is an understanding of social conventions of the time essential to understanding this painting?

I didn’t immediately notice the shaded male figure on the upper right facing the barmaid. I unconsciously focused my attention entirely on the barmaid’s face while trying to “read” her expression.

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John Carlos Baez Mar 9

@michaelormsby - In part 3 I gave my attempt at an interpretation of why Manet painted it this way. But people have given many interpretations.

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Michael Ormsby

@johncarlosbaez Thank you. I saw part 2 but for some reason missed part 3. It explains composition and sinister representation of the shaded customer on the far right.

Art appreciation faces different challenges in the age of the internet. On the plus side we have access to vast amounts of reference information at our fingertips. On minus side information overload can make contemplation and introspection more difficult. Society can be seen as changing rapidly in ways that are both good and bad.