For decades I thought that this undated painting (probably 1877)
by Édouard Manet was named “Plum” and that Plum was the name of the woman in
the painting. It isn’t either one. The painting is named The Plum (French: La
Prune) but is widely known as Plum Brandy.
The woman, thought to be a prostitute, sits alone in a lethargic,
dreamy pose holding an unlit cigarette and her plum soaked in brandy appears
untouched. For many experts in the field, the painting is a study in loneliness.
“She is being watched from
nearby, perhaps by another seated customer. She may be a prostitute waiting for
a client, or possibly a shop worker hoping for some conversation. On the table
is a plum soaked in brandy, a specialty of Parisian cafés at the time
(originally painted as a glass of beer), which gives the painting its title.
She may be waiting for a waiter to bring a spoon to eat her plum. The plum may
be a reference to the woman's sexuality, as the fruit was later used in James
Joyce's Ulysses”
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 color.
The model is the actress Ellen Andrée, who was also depicted
with Marcellin Desboutin in the similar 1876 painting L'Absinthe (or In a Café)
by Edgar Degas.