John Carlos Baez @johncarlosbaez@mathstodon.xyz
Public

Manet's famous painting Un Bar aux Folies-Bergère never appealed to me. But now I realize its genius, and my spine tingles every time I see it.

The perspective looks all wrong. You're staring straight at this barmaid, but her reflection in the mirror is way off to right. Even worse, her reflection is facing a guy who doesn't appear in the main view!

But in 2000, a researcher showed this perspective is actually possible!!! To prove it, he did a photographic reconstruction of this scene. Check it out in my next post.

This blows my mind.

(1/3)

A young barmaid behind the bar at the famous French nightclub Folies-Bergère is staring forward in a bored, introspective way. Behind her is a mirror which reflects the lively scene. At the top left you see the green shoes of a trapeze artists. More importantly, at right you see the back of the barmaid, and see that she is face to a man who leans close and seems to be requesting something. This is Manet's famous painting "A Bar at the Folies-Bergère": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Bar_at_the_Folies-Berg%C3%A8re
0
12
0

If you have a fediverse account, you can quote this note from your own instance. Search https://mathstodon.xyz/users/johncarlosbaez/statuses/116188954925516408 on your instance and quote it. (Note that quoting is not supported in Mastodon.)