The Absinthe Drinker

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The Absinthe Drinker

1876

by Edgar Degas

Original Dimensions: 92 x 68 cm

The woman in the picture, who was actually actress Ellen Andrée, is drinking absinthe in a Parisian café. Absinthe is a highly-alcoholic distilled anise-flavored spirit. The effects of absinthe have been described by artists as mind opening, and even hallucinogenic and by prohibitionists as turning good people mad and desolate,which is the reason why absinthe has been banned from many countries.

Photo of intruder on Flickr