Flowers in a Crystal Vase, Édouard Manet
Paris, Musée d'Orsay, donation de M. Philippe Meyer, 2000. Image © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY / Photo: Michèle Bellot
Transcript
NARRATOR: A single spear of asparagus sits on the edge of Manet’s marble café table, which he used as a prop in his studio. It’s a surface you can see in many of Manet’s paintings.
EMILY BEENY: But the landscape of the tabletop here is much more abstract almost than it appears in many of his other compositions. The vein in the marble of the tabletop, so swiftly and fluidly indicated that it’s transformed here.
NARRATOR: The same can be said of the up-close view of the single white stalk with hints of mauve, grey, blue, and green at the tip.
EMILY BEENY: The overall effect I think really is of breathless speed, of dashing something off very quickly in order to send it essentially as a thank you note.
NARRATOR: The story goes that Manet was commissioned to paint a larger work of a bunch of asparagus. Upon receiving that painting, the patron was so pleased that he paid Manet more than the agreed upon price. Manet then painted this image and sent it along with a note saying, “There was one missing from your bunch.”
EMILY BEENY:This canvas is related to the letters in a way as an object of witty sort of gallant exchange, evidence of an intimate gift culture between Manet and his friends and patrons.
NARRATOR: Unlike the larger painting, which Manet signed with his last name, this less-formal, swiftly painted gift includes the single initial M in the upper right corner.
EMILY BEENY: And can you imagine a nicer freebie than a single stalk of asparagus?
