Le Citron by Édouard Manet: from the Musée d’Orsay to Villa Medici

Thanks to an exceptional loan from the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, at the Academy of France-Villa Medici the historic 16th-century rooms of Cardinal Ferdinando de’ Medici are hosting for three months the work Le Citron (The Lemon) painted by Édouard Manet in 1880, an example of the bold and innovative approach with which the painter, considered the father of French Impressionism, portrayed everyday life.

Iconic plants of the Mediterranean landscape and culture, lemons were abundant, along with oranges, sour oranges and cedars, in the vast garden of the estate purchased by Ferdinando de’ Medici in 1576: they supplied the cardinal’s table or were transformed into fragrant oils and distillates also used for medicinal purposes. Today, visitors to Villa Medici are reminded of the precious citrus fruit when they contemplate the painted vault of the stanza degli uccelli (“bird room”), Ferdinando’s private study.

Three centuries after the birth of Ferdinand de’ Medici’s fruit collection, Édouard Manet painted his Le Citron, isolating the yellow-hued fruit on a black-glazed ceramic saucer that brings out the essential: its strident color, texture, and simplicity. Despite its modest size (14 x 22 cm), the painting is one of the painter's most powerful still lifes.

The loan of the work is part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of Impressionism in 2024 organized by the Musée d’Orsay and the French Ministry of Culture.

Édouard Manet, Le Citron (The Lemon), 1880
Oil on canvas, 14 x 22 cm, Paris, Musée d'Orsay. 
© Musée d’Orsay, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Patrice Schmidt