Manet Parisian painting up for sale

An 1881 oil painting considered one of the defining images of French impressionism is to be sold at auction later this month, the BBC reports.

Edouard Manet's Le Bar aux Folies-Bergere, which depicts a barmaid at the famous Parisian cabaret, recently featured at the National gallery's Inventing Impressionism exhibition.

Sotheby's said the painting could fetch up to £20m at the sale on 24 June.

It last sold at auction for £4.4m in 1994.

"This is one of Manet's most famous subjects, and an absolute classic impressionist image of Parisian nightlife," Sotheby's Philip Hook said.

The painting remained in the artist's personal collection up until his death when it was bought by an art dealer, and has remained in private hands since.

It is one of two versions of the same scene created by Manet. A later, larger version is in London's Courtauld Gallery.

Last November Manet's Spring - a portrait of a Parisian actress - set a new auction record for his work, selling for $65m (£42.6m) in New York.