Interesting Art Stories: 75. A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, Édouard Manet, ACJ Art Academy

 

 

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Currently, I am introducing the stories about various artists and their paintings with the title “Interesting Art Stories”.

The 75th story is “A Bar at the Folies-Bergère” by Édouard Manet.

Self-Portrait with Palette, Édouard Manet
(1878–79)

“A Bar at the Folies-Bergère” is Édouard Manet's last major painting. Painted in 1882 and exhibited at the Paris Salon of that year, this painting depicts a scene in the Folies Bergère nightclub in Paris. The painting belonged to Manet's close friend, composer Emmanuel Chabrier, hung over his piano and is now in the Courtauld Gallery in London.

The Folies-Bergere (2013)

Courtauld Gallery

The detailed depiction of a modern scene demonstrates Manet's dedication and commitment to Realism.

Manet used a mirror in this painting and placed the bartender woman, in the center of the painting, who appears to have a conversation with a gentleman on the right. However, in 2000, to recreate this scene as painted by Manet, a photograph taken from the perspective of a staged reconstruction was shown. 

According to this reconstruction, what many people thought the bartender woman and the gentleman were talking turned out to be a visual trick. In other words, based on the painter, since this gentleman must be standing to the left of the painter, outside the painting area, who is painting in the front, he must be far from the bartender, not standing directly in front of her. 

Also, from the point of view of the observer, this observer should be standing closer to the bar and to the right than the gentleman in the painting. This appearance characterizes Manet, who has been criticized by critics for ignoring perspective, as it is an unusual departure from the perspective point of view.

The mirror in this painting also appears in Diego Velázquez's masterpiece "Las Meninas", who was a painter Manet admired.

Las Meninas, Diego Velázquez (1656)

The bartender woman in the painting is a real person, known as Suzon, who worked at the Folies-Bergère in the early 1880s.

Other notables include the pair of feet in green shoes in the upper left-hand corner, which belong to a trapeze artist who is performing from the restaurant's ceiling. 

Also, from the red triangle on the label on the depicted beer bottles, it can be seen that it is a “Bass Pale Ale,” and the emphasis on the English beer brand instead of the German beer can be interpreted as evidence of anti-German sentiment that arose in France after the Franco-Prussian War.

The logo of Bass Brewery

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Interesting Art Stories: 59. The Gleaners, Jean-François Millet, ACJ Art Academy

How are you?

Currently, I am introducing the stories about various artists and their paintings with the title “Interesting Art Stories”.

The 59th story is “The Gleaners” by Jean-François Millet.

“The Gleaners” is an oil painting by Jean-François Millet, completed in 1857.

Self-Portrait, Jean-François Millet
(c.1840-1841)

The painting, depicting three peasant women gleaning in a wheat field after the harvest, is famous for its sympathetic portrayal of the lowest classes of rural society at the time, and therefore it was received poorly among the French upper classes.

Before the painting, a vertical painting of the image was first made in 1854 and an etching in 1855. Millet exhibited the painting at the Paris Salon in 1857, which immediately received negative criticism from the middle and upper classes, who viewed its subject with suspicion.

Etching of The Gleaners, 1855

Having come out of the French Revolution of 1848, these wealthy classes saw the painting as glorifying the lower classes. The depiction of the working class in the painting destabilized the upper class because it meant that the upper class would be overthrown if the lower class, much outnumbered by the upper class, were to revolt. At that time, the French Revolution was still vivid in the minds of the upper class, so the painting was not perceived well.

The painting was also criticized for its large size of 84 x 112 centimeters. At the time, the painting was too large for a painting depicting labor, because the canvas of the size was usually used for the painting for religious or mythological themes.

Although gleaning was not a new subject for the painting, Millet’s work was a candid statement of rural poverty, and not biblical piety. There is only a contrast between the poverty symbolized by the peasant women gleaning in the foreground and the richness of the abundant harvest in the sun shining beyond, and the biblical sense of community and compassion doesn't exist at all.

After the Salon, the poor Millet negotiated with an Englishman named Binder, and sold the painting for 3,000 francs, much lower than his asking price of 4,000 francs, and Millet tried to keep the miserable price a secret.

Although “The Gleaners” received almost bad reviews during his life, public appreciation of his work steadily broadened after his death in 1875. In 1889, the painting, then owned by banker Ferdinand Bischoffsheim, was sold for 300,000 francs at auction. Less than a week later, it was announced that Champagne maker Jeanne-Alexandrine Louise Pommery had taken over the painting. 

Jeanne-Alexandrine Louise Pommery

Upon the death of Madame Pommery in 1891, and following her will, the painting was donated to the Louvre. It is now in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

Musée d'Orsay

“The Gleaners” is one of Millet's most famous paintings. The image of women bending and gleaning was often paraphrased in works of artists such as Pissarro, Renoir, Seurat, and van Gogh. Also influenced by the painting were Honoré Daumier and Edgar Degas’ "Laundresses" and Gustave Caillebotte’s "The Floor Scrapers".

The Laundress, Honoré Daumier (c.1863)

The Laundresses, Edgar Degas (c.1874-76)

The Floor Scrapers, Gustave Caillebotte (1875)

The painting provides evidence of Millet's role as a social critic. The depiction of three bending, gleaning poor women, in contrast to the workers and abundant crops in the background of the painting, demonstrates his concern for the poorest people around Barbizon and its neighbor, Chailly.

Studies tracing the transformation of rural France in the nineteenth century show that little change in peasant life occurred beyond northern France and Paris until the last quarter of the century. Thus, Millet's expression to represent class strife on a large farm in the paintings, were quite unique and modern considering the 1850s.

The painting inspired the 2000 film “The Gleaners and I” directed by Agnes Varda.

The Gleaners and I

The film also inspired 2019 studio album “The Gleaners” by American jazz bassist Larry Grenadier.

The Gleaners (album), Larry Grenadier
(2019)

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Interesting Art Stories: 54. Portrait of Madame X, John Singer Sargent, ACJ Art Academy

 

How are you?

Currently, I am introducing the stories about various artists and their paintings with the title “Interesting Art Stories”.

The 54th story is “Portrait of Madame X” by John Singer Sargent.

“Portrait of Madame X” is the title of a portrait painting by John Singer Sargent, depicting Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, a young socialite and wife of the French banker Pierre Gautreau. The painting depicts Madame Gautreau posing in a black dress with jeweled straps, featuring the pale skin tone of the model against a black dress and background.

Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau (c. 1878)

The model for this painting, Madame Gautreau, was an American expatriate, and her unique beauty has attracted many artists. Sargent was also impressed with her and actively asked her to be his model, anticipating that her portrait would garner a lot of attention at the upcoming Paris Salon.

Self-portrait, John Singer Sargent (1906)

Although she turned down numerous similar requests from many artists at the time, she accepted Sargent's offer. However, little progress was made in painting after she accepted his model request because she was so busy with many social activities that she could not pay much attention for the model. At her suggestion, Sargent began drawing a series of preparatory works for this painting at her estate in Brittany, resulting in about thirty drawings. 

Madame Gautreau, A figure study by Sargent
in watercolor and graphite (c. 1883)

Another painting by Sargent depicting Gautreau, "Madame Gautreau Drinking a Toast," also shows her profile against a dark background, but is more freely brushed and informal than this painting.

Madame Gautreau Drinking a Toast, John Singer Sargent
(c. 1882–83)

As in his previous works exhibited at the Salon, “The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit” and “El Jaleo,” Sargent selected a large-sized canvas to make his painting stand out among the many paintings exhibited at the Salon. 

The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, John
Singer Sargent (1882)

El Jaleo, John Singer Sargent (1882)

In this painting, Gautreau is standing with her head turned and her right arm extended behind her and her hand on a low table. While this painting was in progress, Gautreau showed a passion for this paintings, and she believed that Sargent was painting a masterpiece. 

Sargent in his Paris studio (c. 1885)

However, when the painting first appeared at the Paris Salon in 1884, people were shocked and scandalized. The poor public and critical reception was a disappointment to both Sargent and his model, Gautreau. Gautreau was humiliated by the incident, and Sargent soon left Paris and moved permanently to London.

Since 1905, Sargent exhibited this painting in many international exhibitions and sold it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1916. An unfinished version of the same pose is in the Tate, London.

Study of Madame Gautreau, John Singer
Sargent, Tate, London, UK (1884)

Seven years after Sargent painted Gautreau, Gustave-Claude-Etienne Courtois also painted her. Like Sargent's portrait, Courtois' portrait shows her face in profile, but his portrait was well received by the public. 

Madame Gautreau, Gustave-Claude-Etienne
Courtois (1891)

In 1898, Gautreau once again posed for Antonio de La Gándara, which became her favorite version among her portraits. 

Madame Gautreau, Antonio de La Gándara
(1898)

In 1960, Cuban-American fashion designer Luis Estévez created an iconic black dress based on this painting.

"Madame X" Dress by Luis Estevez

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