A small panel sketched by Édouard Manet in 1878 in a Parisian café (traditionally identified with the Brasserie Reichshoffen), 'At the Café' catches a seated couple with a glass of beer while a blurred figure passes behind. The strongly horizontal, cropped composition — with glances that never meet and a hazy mirror ground — evokes the loneliness of modern urban sociability. The spontaneous touch is characteristic of Manet's late realism and his engagement with the rapid, photographic moment.

Exhibition Venue

Artizon Museum

Tokyo, Japan