Édouard Manet's Plum Brandy Coaster

Édouard Manet, Plum Brandy, c. 1877, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

Édouard Manet's Plum Brandy depicts a woman - actress Ellen Andrée - seated alone at a table in a cafe, in a lethargic pose. She holds an unlit cigarette and her plum soaked in brandy appears untouched. Manet may have based the painting on observations at the Café de la Nouvelle Athènes on the Place Pigalle in Paris. However, the background - the decorative grille and its gold frame - does not match other depictions of the café, and suggests the painting was made in Manet’s studio, where he is known to have had a café-style marble table on iron legs. Manet uses a simple style: for example, the plum in its glass and the fingers of the woman's left hand are created with just a few dabs of colour.

Inspired by this famous Manet painting, this coaster of a detail from Plum Brandy is sure to be a touchstone for your experience at the Isabella Stewart Gardner's Fall/Winter exhibition, Manet: A Model Family.

Tile edges are weathered as part of the design.

4 x 4 inches
Crafted from Italian marble and heat-resistant cork backing
Made in the USA