The Absinthe Drinker is a painting by Édouard Manet, dating to around 1859 and considered to be his first major painting. It is a full-length portrait of an alcoholic who frequented the area around the Louvre in Paris. The subject, painted in mostly brown, grey and black tones, wears a black top hat and a brown cloak, leaning on a ledge with the empty bottle discarded by his feet. Manet later added a half-full glass of absinthe on the ledge.
The Absinthe Drinker was the first work that Manet submitted to the Paris Salon in 1859. It was rejected with only Eugène Delacroix voting in its favour. Part of the reason for its rejection may be its subject; absinthe was considered morally degenerate, and this was one of the earliest depictions of absinthe in art. According to art historian Charles F. Stuckey, the painting presented in 1859 may have been significantly different and inferior to the current version. The painting is now in the collection at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen.Painting credit: Édouard Manet