137. Charles Milcendeau, Vendean Peasant Drinking

ArtistCharles Milcendeau, French, Soullans, Vendée 1872–Soullans, Vendée 1919
Title, DateVendean Peasant Drinking (Paysan assis buvant), 1901
MediumCharcoal on tan paper
Dimensions20 3/8 × 14 1/8 in. (51.8 × 35.9 cm)
Inscriptions + MarksLower right: Ch. Milcendeau / 1901
Provenance[Galerie Fischer-Kiener, Paris, until 1996; to Weisberg]; Yvonne and Gabriel Weisberg, Minneapolis
Exhibition History"Expanding the Boundaries: Selected Drawings from the Yvonne and Gabriel P. Weisberg Collection," Mia (2008) and Snite Museum of Art, Notre Dame, Ind. (2010); "Reflections on Reality: Drawings and Paintings from the Weisberg Collection," Mia, 2022–23
ReferencesLisa Dickinson Michaux with Gabriel P. Weisberg, "Expanding the Boundaries: Selected Drawings from the Yvonne and Gabriel P. Weisberg Collection" (exh. cat.), Minneapolis Institute of Arts (Minneapolis, 2008), pp. 18–19, fig. 5; Christophe Vital, ed., "Charles Milcendeau 1872–1919: Sa vie, son oeuvre" (Milan: Silvana Editoriale, 2012), p. 17, ill.
Credit LinePromised gift of Gabriel P. and Yvonne M.L. Weisberg, Minneapolis

A substantial portion of Charles Milcendeau’s oeuvre features people drinking, sometimes alone, sometimes in a tavern. Since his parents were innkeepers, it was a milieu the artist knew well. He tended to study his sitters, typically peasants, with care. This figure wears the traditional costume of the region: a peasant’s hat, leggings, and sabots on his feet. He could be a Vendean, but his long walking stick points to another possibility. He could come from the marshy French region of Les Landes, where shepherds walked on stilts and carried long sticks to steady themselves.

Milcendeau lavished as much attention on the lighting as he did on his model. Light floods the room from a low angle on the left. The long, deep shadows tell us that it is late in the day, an indication that this person’s drink is probably a well-earned reward after long hours of hard work.

GPW