Click on different parts of the image to reveal talking point questions to explore Édouard Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère (1882) with fresh eyes, as well as your other senses.
Try to answer the questions before you find out more about the painting.
You may also like to explore an Xray image of the painting here.
How is she feeling?
What is she thinking?
What elements of this scene create a sense of atmosphere?
Who is the man in the mirror?
Are we supposed to be the man in the mirror?
Which parts of the painting are your eyes drawn to?
Why do you think Manet painted the barmaid’s refection in this way?
What is the painting doing? Does it tell a story? Evoke a feeling? Document an event? Present an idea?
Where is she?
How does this painting make you feel?
Image credit: Édouard Manet, A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, 1882, oil on canvas, 96 x 130 cm, The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust) © The Courtauld.
