Edgar Degas: The Absinthe Drinker (1873)

(Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France)

An absinthe is an alcoholic drink with anise, fennel, flowers and leaves of artemisia absinthium and other herbs. The drink usually has a green color. The French artist Edgar Degas (1834-1917) shows the interior of the Café de la Nouvelle-Athènes in Paris. The woman behind the glass of absinthe is the model and actress Ellen Andrée (1857-1925), she was a model for Degas. The man sitting next to her is the French artist Marcellin Desboutin (1823-1902), a friend of Degas. The consumption of absinthe had a bad name because of the alleged hallucinogenic effects which led to it being banned after 1900. The ban was lifted in 1988 by the EU. Painting from 1873.