Two halves of an Édouard Manet painting, originally a single canvas that the artist split in 1874, have been temporarily reunited at London’s National Gallery for the first time in over a century. The works, *Au café* (1878) and *Corner of a Café-Concert* (probably 1878-80), depict different sides of the same bar at the Brasserie Reichshoffen in Montmartre. They were separated after the death of collector Étienne Barroil in 1887, with *Corner of a Café-Concert* entering the National Gallery in 1924 and *Au café* acquired by Swiss collector Oskar Reinhart in 1953. The reunion, on view through December 15, includes a display of Manet’s original sketch and explores his evolving creative process.
The reunion matters because it offers a rare, direct insight into Manet’s experimental working methods and his radical approach to capturing modern Parisian café life. The split canvas reveals how Manet reworked compositions, even cutting and moving strips of canvas between the two halves, challenging traditional notions of a finished painting. It also highlights the enduring legacy of the Oskar Reinhart Collection, which has loaned *Au café* from its museum in Winterthur, Switzerland, and underscores the National Gallery’s role in preserving and contextualizing Impressionist masterpieces.