[Imi Hye's Reading Western Art History Through Paintings] Manet's 'Asparagus Bouquet', Questioning Truth and Power

French Impressionist painter ?douard Manet (1832?1883) was an artist ahead of his time. His works almost always sparked controversy and met with misunderstanding. However, even those who disliked Manet acknowledged his ability to depict objects.

Critics who harshly reviewed him admired the discarded dress and picnic basket in "Le D?jeuner sur l'herbe" and the bouquet of flowers in "Olympia." The peonies in Manet's still lifes appear as mere smudges of paint up close, but when viewed from a distance, they come alive as if freshly picked from a garden.

In 1879, Manet's health deteriorated. He was suffering from progressing nerve paralysis due to syphilis. He underwent spa treatment in Meudon, near Paris, but after a year of hardship, he returned to Paris.

Manet's health was not sufficient to paint large works. He passed the time by exchanging letters with acquaintances and painting small still lifes. These were simple still lifes, such as a single lemon or apple on a plate, rather than the complex still lifes he had painted earlier.

"The Asparagus Bundle" was also painted during this period. Though a small piece, it is a very beautiful and outstanding work. On a white background lie green leaves, and a bundle of asparagus tied with thin willow branches rests on it. The background is painted in a plain dark brown.

?douard Manet 'Bundle of Asparagus', 1880, 46x55 cm, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne, Germany

Light coming from the left makes the root ends of the asparagus appear white. The tips have a somewhat dark pale purple hue. The green leaves and pale purple tips distinguish the asparagus from the white background and even give a fresh feeling.

Manet did not mix paint on the palette but applied it directly onto the canvas. At first glance, the asparagus stalks appear pale yellow, but on closer inspection, colors like light green, pink, and purple are mixed in. The pale purple tips also contain red, blue, green, and yellow hues.

At this time, Charles Ephrussi (1849?1905), a collector who was fascinated by Impressionism, visited Manet's studio and saw "The Asparagus Bundle." Ephrussi was the son of a Jewish businessman who had come from Russia. His grandfather had amassed wealth through the grain business in Odessa, southwestern Ukraine. His family owned businesses across Europe.

Ephrussi used his inherited wealth to collect art, publish art magazines, and engage in art research. Moving in the highest circles of Parisian society, he also served as the model for Swann in Marcel Proust's (1871?1922) novel "In Search of Lost Time."

Manet asked for 800 francs for the painting. The generous Ephrussi wrote a check for 1,000 francs and left. It was unlikely that the sophisticated Manet would remain silent. He quickly painted a single asparagus stalk on a small canvas and sent it to Ephrussi with a note: "This fell off the bundle you took."

?douard Manet 'A Bunch of Asparagus', 1880, 16x21 cm, Mus?e d'Orsay, Paris, France

The two paintings differ greatly in color and technique. "The Asparagus Bundle" was painted using a variety of bright colors in the authentic Impressionist style. Meanwhile, "A Single Asparagus Stalk" was painted quickly in monochrome, emphasizing light and shadow. The single stalk lies as if accidentally fallen, resting on the edge of the table.

Considering this story, it would be ideal for the two paintings to be exhibited side by side. However, the two works are currently separated, with one in Cologne, Germany, and the other in Paris.

In the 1890s, Ephrussi shifted his interest to Symbolism. He disposed of "The Asparagus Bundle" around 1900. The painting then crossed over to Germany and began a tumultuous journey.

The history of "A Single Asparagus Stalk" is relatively simple. Ephrussi kept it until his death, after which it was inherited by his niece and appeared on the art market in 1905. Eventually, it passed through two art dealers and became part of the collection at the Mus?e d'Orsay in Paris.

"The Asparagus Bundle" went from a Parisian art dealer to Germany. In 1903, Paul Cassirer (1871?1926), an art dealer in Berlin, exhibited "The Asparagus Bundle" at the Secession exhibition (a late 19th-century movement in painting, architecture, and crafts in Germany and Austria).

The buyer was Max Liebermann (1847?1935), an Impressionist painter and chairman of the Berlin Secession. When the Nazi regime came to power in 1933 and the atmosphere grew tense, Liebermann, who was Jewish, decided to relocate his collection. Under the pretext of lending the works for an exhibition, he sent 14 pieces, including Manet's "The Asparagus Bundle," to Kunsthaus Z?rich.

Liebermann resigned all his posts under Nazi pressure and lived in seclusion until his death in 1935. Respected as Germany's greatest painter and a dominant figure in Berlin's art scene, his funeral was modest under Nazi surveillance.

But that was only the beginning. Liebermann's home and collection were confiscated. His wife chose suicide by poisoning when threatened with deportation to a concentration camp. His daughter, K?the, fled Germany in 1938 with her husband and daughter. They stopped in Switzerland to retrieve Liebermann's collection and took it to the United States. K?the died in 1952, and her husband in 1955. Liebermann's collection became the property of their granddaughter, Maria White.

Hans Haacke 'Manet Project 74', 1974, each panel 80x52 cm, Manet replica 83x93 cm, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany

In 1967, the Balafridhartz Museum's support group in Cologne purchased "The Asparagus Bundle" from White for $1.36 million. The painting was displayed at Balafridhartz on a permanent loan basis.

On the surface, it seems like a fairly good ending. Although most of Liebermann's collection was confiscated by the Nazis and scattered, "The Asparagus Bundle" was kept by his granddaughter and returned to Germany by philanthropists.

However, knowing who Hermann Josef Abs (1901?1994), the founder of the support group, was makes one feel uneasy. Abs served as the head of Deutsche Bank under the Nazi regime and led economic policies. Deutsche Bank expanded using confiscated Jewish financial capital and played a role in the forced mergers of Jewish businesses.

Abs served on the boards of companies forcibly taken from Jews. These companies employed forced laborers, including Jews and Slavs, during World War II. Abs was arrested as a war criminal immediately after the war but was released after three months due to British intervention. He was considered useful because of his knowledge of the Nazi economic situation.

Abs made a brilliant comeback as a financial advisor in the British occupation zone. He was a close aide to West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and excelled at resolving financial issues through diplomacy. He contributed to West Germany's postwar economic reconstruction and was called the "father of the German economic miracle." He became head of Deutsche Bank in 1955 and served on the boards of several major corporations until retirement. He was even considered for the presidency of the World Bank (WB).

In 1970, a book by an East German historian exposing Abs's Nazi past was published by a Cologne publisher. Abs sued the author and publisher. The court, dominated by right-wing judges, ruled in Abs's favor. The publisher was fined 20,000 marks for spreading false information, and the book was banned.

However, efforts to oppose historical concealment and distortion and to correct the record continued. In 1974, the Balafridhartz Museum planned an exhibition called "Project 74" to commemorate its 150th anniversary.

German-born artist Hans Haacke was invited to the exhibition and created an installation titled "Manet Project 74." The work consisted of ten frames containing printed sheets. Each sheet recorded biographies of the collectors who owned "The Asparagus Bundle," the art dealers who traded it, their socioeconomic status, and the painting's price. Of course, one sheet included Abs's history.

Postwar West Germany accelerated economic reconstruction while simultaneously trying to hush up and erase its shameful past. However, when progressive artists and intellectuals began raising issues about the past in the late 1960s, West German society was inevitably unsettled.

Haacke originally intended to display "The Asparagus Bundle," held by Balafridhartz, on an easel alongside the ten frames. However, the museum director opposed this plan after learning of Haacke's intentions. The director likely could not ignore Abs's influence, who wielded enormous power in business and politics and provided substantial support to the museum.

Haacke ultimately exhibited the work at a private gallery in Cologne. Since the original Manet could not be used, a replica was substituted.

"Manet Project 74" asks: Can art be free from social context? Is it acceptable to simply admire a masterpiece unconditionally? Which side will you take ? the side of the powerful or the side of truth?

Abs lived a wealthy and elegant life as an art patron and died in 1994 at the age of 90. Haacke's work, which broke fixed notions about visual arts, became the starting point of a new genre called conceptual art.

Art historian and visiting professor at Kyungsung University