Humanities Course- Critiquing Art (By: Asia Mueller)
The first piece is called, “A Bar At The Folies-Bergere.” It was created by Eduard Manet
in 1882 in Paris, France. The first thing that we notice right away is the girl behind the bar. She
is the main subject and is centered in this piece. When we look at her eyes she looks distant
from us and sad. She almost looks to be alone.
Once we look closer we can see that the area behind the bar is not as big as we first think
it is. There is a mirror behind her. In that mirror, we can see that there is a lot of space in the
building. There are many overlapping, vertical black lines that represent top hats and small,
round, peach areas that represent the faces of people. There is a large chandelier in the center of
the room and in the upper left corner we see feet on a rod, like we would at a circus. There is a
show being performed in a large room. When we look to the right of the mirror we can see that
the bartender is with a man. The placement of the mirror does not show reality to the location of
the man and woman. In the mirror, the woman looks to be leaning over and more engaged. The
man seems close. They almost look as if they could whisper to each other. When we are looking
, just at the woman in the picture we would be the man’s eyes. He is much further away. So,
maybe the intention of the painter is to show what the woman is thinking in the mirror? He could
be a love interest.
This painting is dark and cluttered. There is not much open space but the overall space is
large. We can tell that because there are many people in the area. Manet likes to address the pear
shape in his painting. When we look at the woman’s lower body it rounds out from her waist.
We see that shape again with the wine bottles and the bowl the oranges are in. The oranges are
the most vivid color in the work. They are also very round making them stand out. The rest of
the piece tends to blend together but still being able to make out shapes and objects. Why do the
oranges stick out so much? What is so symbolic of them? Manet uses oranges to represent
prostitution. So, the look of being unhappy and the man at the bar could show the life she has
and maybe does not want.
This piece is, “Judith Beheading Holofernes” painted by Caravaggio in Rome, 1599. The
painting represents a story from the bible. It is full of many emotions. Holofernes, the man, is
muscular and strong. However, we initially look past that and see terror and pain on his face
The first piece is called, “A Bar At The Folies-Bergere.” It was created by Eduard Manet
in 1882 in Paris, France. The first thing that we notice right away is the girl behind the bar. She
is the main subject and is centered in this piece. When we look at her eyes she looks distant
from us and sad. She almost looks to be alone.
Once we look closer we can see that the area behind the bar is not as big as we first think
it is. There is a mirror behind her. In that mirror, we can see that there is a lot of space in the
building. There are many overlapping, vertical black lines that represent top hats and small,
round, peach areas that represent the faces of people. There is a large chandelier in the center of
the room and in the upper left corner we see feet on a rod, like we would at a circus. There is a
show being performed in a large room. When we look to the right of the mirror we can see that
the bartender is with a man. The placement of the mirror does not show reality to the location of
the man and woman. In the mirror, the woman looks to be leaning over and more engaged. The
man seems close. They almost look as if they could whisper to each other. When we are looking
, just at the woman in the picture we would be the man’s eyes. He is much further away. So,
maybe the intention of the painter is to show what the woman is thinking in the mirror? He could
be a love interest.
This painting is dark and cluttered. There is not much open space but the overall space is
large. We can tell that because there are many people in the area. Manet likes to address the pear
shape in his painting. When we look at the woman’s lower body it rounds out from her waist.
We see that shape again with the wine bottles and the bowl the oranges are in. The oranges are
the most vivid color in the work. They are also very round making them stand out. The rest of
the piece tends to blend together but still being able to make out shapes and objects. Why do the
oranges stick out so much? What is so symbolic of them? Manet uses oranges to represent
prostitution. So, the look of being unhappy and the man at the bar could show the life she has
and maybe does not want.
This piece is, “Judith Beheading Holofernes” painted by Caravaggio in Rome, 1599. The
painting represents a story from the bible. It is full of many emotions. Holofernes, the man, is
muscular and strong. However, we initially look past that and see terror and pain on his face
