A Bar at the Folies-Bergère

Meet the barmaid who has confused viewers for well over a century. Edouard Manet painted this scene in 1882, setting his figure behind the counter of the Folies-Bergère, a buzzing Parisian entertainment hall packed with music, drinks, and crowds. Around her sit bottles of champagne and beer, a bowl of oranges, and a small vase of flowers, all painted with the loose, visible brushstrokes that helped push art toward Impressionism. Her calm, faraway expression stands in quiet contrast to the noisy world glowing in the mirror behind her.

The real puzzle lives in that mirror. Her reflection should sit directly behind her, but instead it drifts off to the right, showing her leaning toward a top-hatted man who ought to be standing exactly where we are. The geometry makes no sense, and Manet did this on purpose. Some think he wanted to capture the dizzy, unreal feeling of nightlife, while others read it as a comment on the quiet solitude of a woman paid to serve everyone else's fun. This was the last big painting Manet finished before his death in 1883, and the mystery he built into it still keeps people staring, trying to piece together a reflection that simply will not cooperate.