The Plum

Plum Brandy

c. 1877 · Painting

May one see it?

Yes, receiving visitors

National Gallery of Art

Washington, D.C., United States

Room89 · West Building, Main Floor

On public display.

Checked: 5 hours ago
In this state since: Aug 19, 2026
Source: The museum's own collection data

On the map Museum page

About the painting

Plum Brandy, also known as The Plum (French: La Prune), is an oil painting by Édouard Manet. It is undated but thought to have been painted about 1877.

The painting measures 73.6 centimetres (29.0 in) by 50.2 centimetres (19.8 in). It depicts a woman seated alone at a table in a cafe, in a lethargic pose similar to that of the woman in Degas' L'Absinthe. The woman may be a prostitute, but unlike the subject of Degas' work she appears more dreamy than depressed. She holds an unlit cigarette and her plum soaked in brandy appears untouched.

Plum Brandy is exhibited in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Wikipedia CC BY-SA

Particulars

Accession number: 1971.85.1

What it shows

Drinking Taverns/cafes/inns Cafe de la Nouvelle-Athenes

In the catalog

French Impressionist Genre art

Sources

National Gallery of Art: the museum's own open data · fetched 4 days ago
Image: National Gallery of Art — Museum open access

Meanwhile, in the life of Édouard Manet

The whole life

1870s
Refuses to exhibit with the Impressionists
Although his own work influenced and anticipated the Impressionist style, Manet resisted involvement in Impressionist exhibitions: he did not wish to be seen as the representative of a group identity and held that modern artists should seek to exhibit at the Salon.
1874–1876
The Salon jury rejects his paintings again
In 1874 the jury rejected “Masked Ball at the Opera”, and in 1876 both paintings Manet sent. Independent exhibitions in those years brought nothing but public censure and the mockery of critics.
1879 · Residence
8th arrondissement of Paris
1879
The Salon warmly receives “In the Conservatory” and “In the Boat”
Only in 1879 did the Salon appreciate Manet's perseverance: his canvases “In the Conservatory” and “In the Boat” were received very warmly.
September 1879
The first attack of rheumatism and ataxia
In September 1879 Manet suffered his first acute attack of rheumatism; it soon turned out that he had ataxia, a disorder of movement coordination. The illness progressed rapidly and limited his creative possibilities.
December 1879
“The Execution of Maximilian” first shown in New York
In December 1879 the singer Émilie Ambre and her lover Gaston de Beauplan organised in New York the first exhibition of “The Execution of Emperor Maximilian”.