by Edouard Manet, on loan to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles for the summer.
I've studied this extraordinary painting in detail, but never seen it in person. It's a little smaller and more delicate than I pictured, which makes it more endearing.
(It seems so simple: A weary barmaid standing behind a marble bar, with a mirror behind her reflecting the audience watching a spectacle. In the reflection you see that she is being chatted up by a dapper man. On closer inspection, none of the reflected objects in the mirror are where they should be, including the girl and her admirer. The link goes into more detail.)
I would encourage anyone in LA this summer to check this out. It's a bit of a headache to take the 405, then park underground and take the tram up to the complex, but the parking is only $8.00 per car, the museum is free, the views are spectacular, and the gardens are beautiful. AND, this particular painting doesn't travel much.
Now, some efforts to make this post slightly food-related:
Skip the convenient "Garden Cafe." After eating flavorless wraps there we found the real cafeteria near the entrance, on the way out. Too late.
And the tangerines in the painting looked good enough to eat.
http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/manet_bar/
I've studied this extraordinary painting in detail, but never seen it in person. It's a little smaller and more delicate than I pictured, which makes it more endearing.
(It seems so simple: A weary barmaid standing behind a marble bar, with a mirror behind her reflecting the audience watching a spectacle. In the reflection you see that she is being chatted up by a dapper man. On closer inspection, none of the reflected objects in the mirror are where they should be, including the girl and her admirer. The link goes into more detail.)
I would encourage anyone in LA this summer to check this out. It's a bit of a headache to take the 405, then park underground and take the tram up to the complex, but the parking is only $8.00 per car, the museum is free, the views are spectacular, and the gardens are beautiful. AND, this particular painting doesn't travel much.
Now, some efforts to make this post slightly food-related:
Skip the convenient "Garden Cafe." After eating flavorless wraps there we found the real cafeteria near the entrance, on the way out. Too late.
And the tangerines in the painting looked good enough to eat.
http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/manet_bar/