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Coffee in 19th-century art
Once a tasty privilege reserved for a few lucky connoisseurs, in the 19th century coffee became a common drink, and began appearing more frequently in paintings.
In the famous Breakfast in the Studio painted in 1868 by Eduard Manet (Munich, Neue Staatsgalerie), the artist dedicates the same diligence to his central figure, the young Leon Leenhof, and the section of still life behind him.This corner of a table, still laden with lemon rinds, oyster shells, and glasses of wine, also contains a white coffee cup with a gilded rim, while a servant in the background draws near holding a silver coffeepot.
A waiter holding in his hand a jug of coffee ready to serve is seen in the background of the "Pere Lathuille" canvas, also by Manet (1879, Tournai, Musee des Beaux-Arts).
In his 1868 piece titled After Lunch (The Pergola) (Milan, Brera Pinacoteca), the macchiaiolo painter Silvestro Lega portrays the luminous and warm light of early afternoon filtering through a pergola, under which three women and a child are gathered. Small cups and a sugar bowl sit on a bench as a young waiter approaches calmly, carrying a tray bearing a small pewter coffeepot.
Coffee also appears in one of the numerous sketches by Scipione Vannutelli, an illustrator and Roman painter in the second half of the 19th century. One small grid-lined sheet taken from one of his notebooks, which contain scenes and moments of everyday life in Rome (private collection), shows a young woman sitting on a chair, quietly drinking a cup of coffee.
The coffee shown by Pierre Auguste Renoir is elegant and refined, in After the Luncheon (1879, Frankfurt, Stadesches Kunstinstitut).On the spotless tablecloth, among crystal bottles and glasses, the finely decorated porcelain coffee cups remind us that the luncheon has just concluded; two women, dressed elegantly in the fashion of the day, smile with satisfaction while their squire lights a cigarette after having enjoyed a good cup of coffee.
In 1884, in a canvas called At the Café (Mantua, Tea Palace, Civic Museum), Federico Zandomeneghi distanced himself from the macchiaiolo style of painting by declaring his connection to nearby French painting, and was clearly inspired by Degas' composition, from whom he borrowed the photographic framing of the scene and the close up.The young maiden is sitting with someone of whom we see only a hand.Before her on a small marble table sits a single item: a steaming cup full of boiling coffee, ready to drink.
In Woman with Coffeepot, painted between 1890 and 1895, Paul Cezanne brought to fruition his ongoing research into form that would be so important later for the Cubists.The female figure sits alongside a small table, on which rests a coffeepot and a coffee cup with a spoon: the edges are marked by dark shadows and the shapes are accentuated by the light that brings out their bright geometry.A powerful sense of everyday life radiates from the scene, and especially from the simple metal coffee pot and cup, unadorned except for a narrow light blue band at its rim:a moment for relaxation and refreshment after the strains of everyday family life, as a simple coffee can provide.
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