Painted in 1875–76, the work portrays a woman and man sitting side-by-side, drinking a glass of absinthe. They appear lethargic and lonely. The man, wearing a hat, looks to the right off the edge … See more

At its first showing in 1876, the picture was panned by critics, who called it ugly and disgusting. It was seen at the third Impressionist exhibition in 1877, but not again until it appeared at auction in … See more

• Cultural references to absinthe
• Automat, similar subject
• Plum Brandy, similar subject See more

• Conrad III, Barnaby (1988). Absinthe: History in a Bottle. Chronicle books. pp. 43–50. ISBN 0811816508.
• Baker, Phil (2001). The Book of Absinthe: A Cultural History. Grove Press books. pp. 121–124. ISBN See more

• Green Fairy: The symbol of liberté — Examines L'Absinthe as a fitting example of the "nervous fear that the decadent ways of the Continent might reach the shores of the British Isles".
• Musée d'Orsay discussion of the painting See more