Hello dear online world, here you will find an artwork visually inspired by the story of Absinthe, the so-called La Fée Verte: The Green Fairy. In the text, you can read about the history of this special drink.
The first time I heard about Absinth was in my childhood. I knew it was forbidden for many years due to its dangerous effect on people. Absinthe has been frequently and improperly described in modern times as being hallucinogenic. No peer-reviewed scientific study has demonstrated absinthe to possess hallucinogenic properties. As a matter of fact it is a very strong drink. I would recommend you to have just one or two glasses, not more.
The Absinthe is a legendary highly alcoholic drink. The proper preparation needs a special spoon (as in my body painting work), burning sugar, cold water and the absinthe itself. It has an anise-flavor. It is the result of a plants mix: blossoms and leaves of Artemisia absinthium ("grand wormwood"), green anise, sweet fennel, and other herbs. The medical use of wormwood dates back to ancient Egypt.
According to popular legend, absinthe began as an all-purpose patent remedy created by Dr. Pierre Ordinaire, a French doctor living in Couvet, Switzerland, around 1792. Absinthe's popularity grew steadily through the 1840s when absinthe was given to French troops as a malaria preventive.
Drinking absinthe became so popular in bars, bistros, cafés, and cabarets that, by the 1860s, 5 p.m. was called l'heure verte ("the green hour"). Absinthe was loved by all social classes, from the wealthy bourgeoisie to poor artists and ordinary working-class people.
Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Aleister Crowley, Edgar Allan Poe, Lord Byron were just a few from the creative minds, who found inspiration in the sweet fresh green drink. In the past Absinthe has often been portrayed as a dangerously addictive and hallucinogen. This was the reason why to be forbidden in 1914/1915.
In the 1990s, realizing the UK had never banned absinthe, British spirits importer began to import Absinth from the Czech Republic. This was the beginning of the absinthe's popularity comeback. In countries where absinthe was never banned or truly popular, absinthe began to reappear during the revival in the 1990s. In 2000, La Fée Absinthe became the first commercial absinthe distilled and bottled in France since the 1914 ban.
The traditional French preparation starts with placing a sugar cube on top of a specially designed slotted metal spoon, placing the spoon on a glass filled with a measure of absinthe. Iced water will be poured or dripped very slowly over the sugar cube to mix the water into the absinthe. The final preparation contains 1 part absinthe and 3-5 parts water. The color changes, it gets milky pale green. Please, do not drink Absinthe pure. There are also wonderful Absinthe fountains like this one:
The Bohemian Method is a recent invention that involves fire, and was not performed during absinthe's peak of popularity in the Belle Époque. Like the French method, a sugar cube is placed on a slotted spoon over a glass containing one shot of absinthe. The sugar is pre-soaked in absinthe, then set ablaze. The flaming sugar cube is then dropped into the glass, thus igniting the absinthe. Finally, a shot glass of water is added to douse the flames. This method tends to produce a stronger drink than the French method. I recommend you to let the water drip very slowly.
Researchers say that the addiction problems were a result not of the drink itself but the amount which was consumed.
Here you can watch two videos about Absinthe and how to prepare it.
The model for this artwork was my friend & muse C.R.G in the year of 2012.
The Absinthe fountain photo is the only not mine photo.
The history information is from wikipedia.
I hope you have enjoyed this post.
With love & light
Bella
Here you can visit my website!
Here you can explore my online store!