Léon-Augustin Lhermitte (1844–1925)
The Wine Press, c. 1872
Black chalk with stumping and erasing on beige laid paper, pieced together
12 x 18 13/16 in. (30.4 x 47.7 cm)
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, 1986.17
Lhermitte frequently depicted rural laborers. These four men with fatigued bodies and expressions pause from their work. The dimly glowing light and the harmonious arrangement of the figures lend an overall sense of melancholy, underscoring the theme of long-awaited rest.