The painting A Bar at the Folies Bergere by Edouard Manet was his last major work before his death. The work is a depiction of a woman that stands facing the viewer from behind a bar in a crowded room. A mirror behind her reflects everyone else in the scene and she is the only figure not literally seen via the mirror and the figures and images in the mirror are not reflected correctly. We can look at the painting and consider the enigmatic figure and posture of the barmaid, then decide what she represents. This historically charged painting has relevance reveals the historical events and the culture of Paris in the 1800’s and Manet invites us to join in the exploration of his artistic experience.This painting strikes me as something different from many others of the period because it seems to tell a story rather than just capturing a momentary view. Edouard Manet intentionally altered the bartender’s posture, creating a double reality for the woman and seems to be a rendering of her internal refection. By placing the viewer as participant opens up interpretations however the double reality may take significance through a person’s experience.The background is depicted with loose brush strokes that seem to focus more on contrast than realistic depictions of the raucous place. Manet painted this piece more abstractly rather than faithfully representing reality, and it leaves us with a wistful, dreamy, resigned portrait of a familiar Paris scene.
At one time artists painted to document faces and remember events in time and to immortalize moments. Photography challenged realisms purpose because of its way of extracting exact images. Art had to redefine itself in response to the new medium so movements like Impressionism, expressionism, and abstraction emerged as responses to photography’s ability. Manet not only used photography to benefit his art form but also combined impressionistic style with a more realistic, documenting style with movement blurs to make a final statement.
Edgar Degas compositions, drawings, and analysis of movement made him one of the most iconic impressionist artists in the late 19th century. In his painting L’Absinthe he attempted to catch his subjects in natural and spontaneous poses much like those recorded in photography. The painting is of a Parisian actress staring blankly ahead with the 19th century equivalent of cocaine in front of her, a glass of Absinthe. Next to her a homeless alcoholic drinks coffee to cure his hangover. Degas posed actress Ellen Andree and artist Marcellin Desboutin as the two addicts in his favorite Parisian café. This piece shows the setting the figure off center with an expanse of foreground, and the diagonal entrance to the scene of the isolated couple reflects Degas's interest in photography and photographic composition. Degas portrait is draws us in so as to have us participate so in the scene and there is a forceful use of dark but harmoniously related tones of color and shadow with a styling from Japanese art resulting in a very flat composition. The two figures inhabit the scene and drink to find some solace for their mutual loneliness and despair. The body language and expression of the young girl and her companion show the effects of the rough, poisonous green alcohol. The painting is representative of social isolation in Paris during its stage of rapid growth.
Starting in 1850 absinthe became the rage in France and was known as the queen of poisons. Officials wanted to place a ban on the drink because it was considered to be the blame for increased numbers in asylums, trade union unrest, and women’s emancipation. In many circles it became a symbol that fueled creative individuals like Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, Gauguin, and van Gogh. (Library)Degas did not flatter or try to make a pretty picture like his classical counterparts and although his work was impressionistic Degas was also very decidedly a realist. The painting was not appreciated in its time but we can see its link to modern work like that of Edward Hopper with its portrayal of urban alienation.
Impressionists were painters who changed the way art was created and viewed. 1874 was the year that a group of thirty artists, whose work had been rejected by the official French Academy of Fine Arts organized their own exhibition. (impressionniste.net) Degas was the master of representing the psychological conditions of modernity as he depicted down and out people in his painting L’Absinthe.Manet’s painting shows deep emotion and captures the chaos and indulgence of people who take the time to come down to the Bar at the Folies Bergere. Both works showed the effects of a new modern Parisian lifestyle and its dark reality. The artists not only used photography to capture their muse but still showed a sense of realism. The brush strokes, color, use of voyagerism, and outlines of all figures are hazy and yet distinct. In the A Bar at the Folies Bergere and L’Absinthe the theme is also drawn from the urban Paris life in the nineteenth century, encompassing the Impressionist doctrine of paintings drawn out of the studio.
Works Cited
impressionniste.net. IMPRESSIONISM MODERNITY and TRADITION. 2004. 26 April 2012 <http://www.impressionniste.net/impressionism_history.htm>.
Library, The Free. The 'Philistine' and the New Art Critic: a new perspective on the debate about Degas's L'Absinthe of 1893. 2008. 26 April 2012 <http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+'Philistine'+and+the+New+Art+Critic%3A+a+new+perspective+on+the...-a0220059009>.
