The Opening I
48" x 64"
1988
Collection of Joan Hardy Clark
In the original painting, Manet's perplexing last masterpiece, A Bar at the Folies-Bergere, the barmaid, Suzon, stood in front of a large mirror that reflected a chandelier, a smoky, crowded balcony, the bottles on the bar, and a view of her back at an odd angle as she talks to a customer who is mysteriously not presented in the foreground. She always looked to me as though she were serving at an exhibition opening, so I rescued her from this confusion and transported her to a museum. It turns out to be a Manet show, and now she welcomes guests in front of his first masterpiece, Luncheon on the Grass.
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