Let’s fast forward a month or so out of Pre Raphaelites and into impressionism for this excerpt. Due to the National Gallery closing this past Monday, our weekly trip to the museum was disturbed. The annoyance of having to take time to walk to another gallery and have less time to look at works wore off when I entered the Courtauld Gallery. Every piece was intriguing and caught my eye right away. I personally am more of an impressionism fan myself so I quite enjoyed the little preview into one of the later sections. Kasey and I observed works by Monet, Manet, Degas and Cézanne.
I had absolutely no difficulty choosing my favourite piece in the gallery; “A Bar at the Folies-Bergère” by Édouard Manet. The piece is colourful but not vivid. The colours are distinct and obvious, however there is a sense of fading within the colours themselves. The oranges are the most vivid part of the painting and the woman’s skin appears to be the lightest. Her pale skin contrasts her dark and mysterious attire. The black stands out against her and perhaps makes her appear even paler than she is. Her appearance seems lifeless and discontent. Her mere position displays boredom and even unhappiness. Behind her is a mirror, displaying the crowd in front of her and presenting it to the viewer. The woman’s central position in the piece allows the viewer to feel as though they are standing at the bar themselves, waiting to be served and join the crowd behind them.
The piece is extremely detailed, starting with each bottle of alcohol, to the glassware and even the reflection of the marble countertop. Even the water in the flower glass is done with care. As your eye moves back however, the details become blurry, especially in the mirror. The crowd lacks detail in comparison to the rest of the piece, however this may act as insight into how crowded the bar was. The people seem to be blending into each other, which emphasizes the closeness between everyone.
In terms of composition, I find the piece quite balanced. The woman in the middle is the focal point of the painting and on her right is the reflection of her customer (questionably) and on her left is the busyness of the bar and the chandelier. Both sides seem to balance each other out. The legs in the top left corner are said to be the legs of an acrobat. Her shoes are fairly vivid in colour; however manage to not instantly stand out.
The piece itself is enthralling. I love the colours, the composition and the notion that the viewer is right there in the painting. It allows me as the viewer to connect more with the woman, who stands in front seeming depressed and unenthusiastic. The mood of the piece connects to me as a viewer because of the woman. Her facial expression and body language is depressing. It gives me an idea of the type of place the woman is working in. I find the piece and the message behind it very captivating. This is probably my favourite piece of the ones we have studied thus far.
-Charlotte & Kasey
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