Picture Paris in 1880. A insanely wealthy banker named Charles Ephrussi (the man who inspired Marcel Proust to write Charles Swann) hires impressionist art master Édouard Manet to paint a bundle of asparagus for his dining room. The agreed price is 800 francs.
Manet, who is 48 and working through failing health, paints A Bunch of Asparagus (Botte d'asperges), a 46x55 cm canvas filled with soft creamy whites, pale greens, and deep purple tips resting on a bed of straw. It is simple, luminous, and executed with effortless confidence.
When Ephrussi uncrates the canvas in his apartment, he is so thrilled with the painting that he decides 800 francs isn't enough. He sends Manet a bank transfer for 1,000 francs instead, adding a 200-franc tip (the equivalent of over $1,000 today).
Most artists would pocket the cash and buy a round of drinks. Manet did something much better.
He took a tiny 16x21 cm scrap of leftover canvas and painted a solitary, single stalk of asparagus resting on a cool grey marble slab. He let the paint dry, wrapped the miniature canvas, and sent it straight back to Ephrussi with a handwritten note that read:
"Il en manquait une à votre botte."
("There was one missing from your bunch.")
It was art history's most elegant micro-prank. Instead of acting like a humble contractor accepting a tip, Manet framed the extra money as an accidental over-order. He gave Ephrussi another piece of art for his 200 francs while keeping his artistic dignity completely intact.
Ephrussi was so amused by Manet's wit that he kept both paintings side by side. Today, the original bundle hangs in Cologne's Wallraf-Richartz Museum, while the famous single stalk sits in Paris at the Musée d'Orsay. Two major European museums, separated by a single stem of food.
If you love subtle humor and classic food and drinks wall art in your own home, explore our curated kitchen wall art collection to find prints that bring a little warmth and story to your walls.
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