A Café Interior 1869

Editor: This is Edouard Manet's "A Café Interior," made with pen and ink. It feels like a quick sketch, capturing a bustling scene. What do you make of it? Curator: This work speaks to the democratization of leisure and labor. Manet depicts a space of consumption, but the loose application of ink blurs the lines between the sketched and the finished product. How does this affect your understanding of the depicted class? Editor: I hadn't thought about that. The sketch-like quality almost makes the scene feel accessible, like a fleeting glimpse into everyday life. Curator: Exactly. Manet is drawing attention to the materiality of the work itself and to the production of the scene. He presents leisure as itself a labor. Editor: That's a new perspective for me. Seeing the cafe as more than just a place for enjoyment is really interesting.