Artist joke. The most unusual still life of Edouard Manet

“Asparagus” by Edouard Manet is his most unusual still life. The small canvas depicts a single stalk of asparagus on a marble tabletop. Why did such an unsightly object become the “hero” of the whole picture? It turns out that Manet had a good sense of humor.

Read about this in the article “Edouard Manet: an artist’s joke or the most unusual still life”.

site "Diary of painting: in each picture - history, fate, mystery".

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В Musée d'Orsay in Paris I saw a frankly strange picture Edouard Manet "Asparagus" (1880).

Why did such a talented impressionist paint an unremarkable asparagus stalk? The incomprehensibility of the “hero of the picture” is emphasized by the marble countertop. On it lies this unremarkable vegetable.

Then I found out the history of the creation of this small still life (the dimensions of the painting are 16.5 x 21.5 cm). It was hard not to appreciate the artist's sense of humor.

It turned out that in 1880, Charles Ephrussi, a philanthropist and art historian, ordered Edouard Manet to still life “Bunch of Asparagus”. We agreed on a price of 800 francs.

The customer liked the work so much that he sent the artist a check for 1000 francs. Manet, without hesitation, draws a small still life with one stalk of asparagus. And he sends it to Charles Effrucy with a cover letter: “I am sending the missing stem for your bunch.”

So Ephrussi bought two still lifes for 1000 francs.

It is unlikely that Manet at that time could have imagined that his picture-joke would be kept in a museum!

However, I still have questions after reading this story on the site. Museum d'Orsay. Why do such uncomplicated still lifes suddenly appear among the outstanding works of the artist, the overwhelming majority of which are dedicated to people, their postures and faces?

After reviewing paintings Manet, I noticed that such small still lifes began to appear among his works just after 1880. In the last years of the artist's life.

Still life paintings by Edouard Manet. Left: Ham. 1875 Burrell Collection, Glasgow, Scotland. Right: Pears. 1880 Washington National Gallery, USA.

These small paintings depict simple objects: a few apples or sink, on a dark or gray background. They are like quintessences, particles of his inspiration and talent, concentrated on small pieces of the canvas.

Edouard Manet gave these works to his friends. Perhaps it was an attempt on his part to thank loved ones for their support and love. Realizing that soon it will not be.

I wrote about one such painting donated to Edgar Degas in the article Edouard Manet Plums and Murder Mystery.

The artist died in April 1883 (aged 51). Despite severe pain from chronic rheumatism, he worked almost until his last days. His latest creation was the painting  “Bar in the Folies Bergère”, one of the most mysterious and ingenious works of the artist.

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Main illustration: Edouard Manet. Olympia. 1863. Musée d'Orsay, Paris.