Absinthe

Documentation:

George Moore, a friend of Degas, noted:

“In old times, after a long day spent in his studio, he would come to the Nouvelle Athènes late in the evening, about ten o’clock. There he was sure of meeting Manet, Pissarro and Duranty,* and with books and cigarettes the time passed in agreeable astheticisms. Pissarro dreamy and vague; Manet loud, declamatory, and eager for medals and decorations; Degas sharp, deep, more profound, scornfully sarcastic; Duranty clear-headed, dry, full of repressed disappointment.”

*Edmond Duranty (1833-80) was a writer and art critic. He wrote an influential essay, “The New Painting,” (1876) about Impressionism. Some speculate that Degas collaborated in its writing.

George Moore, “Memories of Degas,” The Burlington Magazine for Conoisseurs, vol. 32, no. 178 (January 1918): 29.

Similar Subjects by Other Artists:

Manet, Absinthe Drinker, 1858-59 (Ny Carlsberg Glyptothek, Copenhagen)

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, At Café La Mie, 1891 (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)