Summary Of Counter Mirror Maid By Carlen Armstrong

In Carol Armstrong’s “Counter, Mirror, Maid: Some Infra-Thin Notes on A Bar at the Folies-Bergère,” she addresses the debate over the setting (at Folies-Bergère) and the significance of the foreground and the background in Manet’s painting A Bar at the Folies-Bergère. She believes the still life at the foreground embodies commodity and the mirrors’ reflection in the background displays a fabricated reality. Moreover, Armstrong argues the barmaid is a bridge between the two realms that is both male and female, not a feminized character who does or doesn’t want to serve the viewer. Armstrong claims like in previous studies of lemons and asparagus, Manet used still life to draw a link to commodity and consumerism; ultimately Manet establishes the bar as public space with commodities for sale. Armstrong argues the difference with the mirrors reflection and the seven being reflected differentiates the imagined envionrment
The still life in The Bar with Asparagus and the Lemon, and the mirror and Nana/Before the Mirror and the barmaid with The Woman Reading) Armstrong identifies Manet’s patterns of experimentation and style in order to support her analysis. By addressing previous interests and artistic investigations of Manet, and connecting those ideas to aspects of The Bar, Armstrong is able to back up claims that contradict other’s interpretations. Armstrong’s argument is compelling and believable when looking at Manet’s previous work as opposed to opinions and interpretations that don't review Mante’s previous work. Armstrong’s argument could be made stronger by illuminating the historical setting of Folies-Bergère in order to understand how Manet injected meaning though his choices. Additionally, a historical perspective on gender- particularly of the class and status of the barmaid could have clarified the relationship between the barmaid and the man at the bar.