The Asparagus

Édouard Manet, 1880

$259

Size

These sizes keep the painting’s true proportions. Want a different shape? Email us and we’ll adapt it.

Frame

Framing never costs more than the painting. Compare rolled, stretched and framed

Hand-painted
Photo before it ships
Free shipping
90-day returns

Questions? Text, WhatsApp, call or email

After you order

What happens next

1An artist is assigned. Your painting goes to one of our painters as soon as the order is in.

2It is painted. Oil on canvas, layer by layer. 3 to 4 weeks.

3The approval promise. We send you a photo of the finished painting before it ships, and we change anything that is not right.

4It ships tracked. 4 to 10 working days to most countries, door to door.

The painting

The Asparagus

The collector Charles Ephrussi bought Manet's Bunch of Asparagus and paid more than the agreed price. Manet then painted this single stalk on a marble table in 1880 and sent it to him with a note saying one had slipped from the bunch. It is in the Musée d'Orsay.We paint each copy by hand in oil, only after it is ordered, and send you a photo to approve first.

About the original

Painted in: 1880
Original size: 16 × 21 cm (6.3 × 8.3 in)
Where it hangs: Musée d'Orsay, Paris

See where the originals hang

Detail

Specification

Medium	Oil on canvas
Painting size
Framed size
Frame
Orientation
Dominant colour
Arrives	Rolled, ready for local framing
Packed	Rolled in a protective tube
Turnaround	3 to 4 weeks, then delivery

The hand behind it

Édouard Manet

Manet spent his career trying to be accepted by the Salon and became the model for everyone who rejected it. Déjeuner sur l’Herbe and Olympia both caused scandals, not because of nudity, which was standard, but because the women were unmistakably contemporary Parisians rather than goddesses, and they look straight out at you. The paint handling was the other offence. Flat areas of tone, edges left abrupt, mid tones skipped entirely. Critics complained the figures looked like playing cards. He had taken it from Velazquez and Hals, not from invention. He knew the Impressionists, exhibited with none of them, and kept submitting to the Salon until the end. A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, painted in 1882 with its deliberately impossible mirror reflection, was his last major work. He died the following year at fifty one.

All paintings by this artist

Looking after it

Care and hanging

Keep it out of direct sun. Oil paint and varnish yellow and crack under prolonged UV. An interior wall away from a south-facing window is ideal.

Dust it, do not clean it. A dry, soft brush once or twice a year. No water, no sprays, no cleaning products.

Avoid damp and heat. Not above a radiator, not in a bathroom. Canvas expands and contracts with humidity.

Hang it at eye level. The centre of the painting about 145 cm (57 in) from the floor, on two fixings so it sits level.

Before you buy

Questions

How is the finish priced?

The price you see is the painting at the size you chose, in the finish you chose, and it updates as you change either. Rolled arrives in a protective tube, ready for local framing. Stretched arrives on wooden bars, ready to hang. Framed arrives in its frame, ready to hang. Stretched and framed go up to 60 × 90 cm (24 × 36 in); larger paintings travel rolled.

How long does it take?

Painting begins after you order and takes 3 to 4 weeks, including drying and the photo you approve. Delivery then takes 4 to 10 working days to most countries. More on delivery times.

Will it look exactly like the original?

It is painted by a person, so no. Brushwork varies between copies, which is the difference between a painting and a poster.

What if I do not like it?

Ninety days from delivery, full refund.

Can I get The Asparagus in a different size or shape?

Yes. The Asparagus is painted to the size you want, in the original’s proportions, or adapted to another shape on request. Stretched and framed go up to 60 x 90 cm (24 x 36 in). The original measures 16 x 21 cm (6.3 x 8.3 in).

Every order