Stephanie Jaffe
A Bar at the Folies Bergére, 2022
Mixed Media Assemblage
30 x 36 x 3 cm
11 3/4 x 14 1/4 x 1 1/4 in.
11 3/4 x 14 1/4 x 1 1/4 in.
SJ002
The Folies Bergère was one of Paris's most elaborate variety-show venues. It opened a decade before Édouard Manet painted A Bar at the Folies-Bergère in 1882 and became one of...
The Folies Bergère was one of Paris's most elaborate variety-show venues. It opened a decade before Édouard Manet painted A Bar at the Folies-Bergère in 1882 and became one of the city's most popular music halls and entertainment destinations.
My interpretation of this iconic painting includes many of the original work's major details, along with additional narrative elements incorporated into the border. The background depicts a fashionable crowd gathered on the balcony, entertained by musical and circus performances below. The pair of green feet in the upper left corner belongs to a trapeze artist performing above the patrons.
Another attraction of the Parisian café-concert was its barmaids, who were often assumed to be available as clandestine prostitutes. In Manet's composition, the barmaid seen from the front appears again in the mirror reflection, where she is shown interacting with the gentleman in the upper right corner.
The red triangles on the bottles reference Bass Brewery's logo, recognized as the first officially protected trademark in the United Kingdom, registered in 1876.
Original painting by Édouard Manet, 1882.
My interpretation of this iconic painting includes many of the original work's major details, along with additional narrative elements incorporated into the border. The background depicts a fashionable crowd gathered on the balcony, entertained by musical and circus performances below. The pair of green feet in the upper left corner belongs to a trapeze artist performing above the patrons.
Another attraction of the Parisian café-concert was its barmaids, who were often assumed to be available as clandestine prostitutes. In Manet's composition, the barmaid seen from the front appears again in the mirror reflection, where she is shown interacting with the gentleman in the upper right corner.
The red triangles on the bottles reference Bass Brewery's logo, recognized as the first officially protected trademark in the United Kingdom, registered in 1876.
Original painting by Édouard Manet, 1882.