Manet and the asparagus

Known since ancient times, the subject of poems and verses, revered for its diuretic properties, the asparagus is also painted by Edouard Manet.

We are in France in 1880, and a wealthy banker, a famous collector and patron of paintings, named Charles Ephrussi commissions Manet to create a still life depicting a bundle of asparagus.

They agreed on a price of 800 francs, but the magnate insisted on paying 1000, claiming that for a painting he could not pay less.

Manet decided to repay the debt by sending Ephrussi a painting featuring a single asparagus, accompanied by a note that read: ”Il en manquait une à votre botte” meaning there was one missing from your bundle.