The Absinthe Drinker (Le buveur d'absinthe)

Edouard Manet

National Gallery of Art

This print depicts a man seated on a low ledge. The man is wearing a top hat that covers his hair and a cloak that drapes over his shoulders and extends down to his knees. Below the edge of the cloak, he wears pants and dark shoes. The man’s face is slightly turned to the right, and we can see wide eyes, a small nose, and thin lips. The man casts a shadow on the wall behind him, and a bottle is lying on its side in front of him, near the bottom-right corner. The background is filled with sketchy, crosshatching lines on the off-white paper.