A single spear of asparagus, painted with almost mischievous simplicity, became the subject of one of the most famous anecdotes in the life of Édouard Manet. In 1880, the artist sold a still life of a bunch of asparagus to the collector Charles Ephrussi for 800 francs. Ephrussi, delighted, paid 1,000 francs instead.

In response, Manet painted this small canvas, L'Asperge, depicting just one stalk, and sent it to Ephrussi with the note: "There was one missing from your bundle." This witty exchange has become legendary, encapsulating both Manet's wit and the intimate, personal nature of his late still lifes. On the canvas, a lone asparagus lies diagonally across a marble slab, its pale stalk and violet-tinged tip rendered with quick, luminous brushstrokes. The vegetable seems both ordinary and oddly noble, its delicate shadows and subtle colors standing out against the cool, neutral ground. There is no narrative in the traditional sense, but the painting invites the viewer to contemplate the beauty of the everyday.

The brushwork, loose and confident, recalls the immediacy found in Manet's earlier works, while the subject and composition echo the quiet intensity of Chardin's 18th-century still lifes. Where Chardin cloaked his objects in soft atmosphere, Manet lets the asparagus spear assert itself, crisp and direct. L'Asperge remains a testament to the artist’s late style, painted just three years before his death. Its provenance is well documented: after Ephrussi, it passed through several private collections before entering the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, where it hangs today.

The painting is often cited as a perfect example of Manet's ability to elevate the humble and the fleeting, and it has become emblematic of the shift toward modernism in late 19th-century French painting. While the work is modest in size, its reputation in the history of still life is considerable, cherished both for its artistry and the charming story behind its creation.