Édouard Manet's Le Fifre was rejected by the Paris Salon jury in 1866, with critic Théophile Gautier calling it a flat playing card. Zola famously defended it the following year, launching one of the sharper critical exchanges of the Impressionist period. The painting now hangs in the Musée d'Orsay.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has issued dozens of these silver-plated "Famous Paintings" pieces, most bearing no meaningful connection to the issuing country — they are produced entirely for the collector market by European minting contractors.
Édouard Manet's Le Fifre was rejected by the Paris Salon jury in 1866, with critic Théophile Gautier calling it a flat playing card. Zola famously defended it the following year, launching one of the sharper critical exchanges of the Impressionist period. The painting now hangs in the Musée d'Orsay.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has issued dozens of these silver-plated "Famous Paintings" pieces, most bearing no meaningful connection to the issuing country — they are produced entirely for the collector market by European minting contractors.