Studies of Men Turning a Cider Press

This is a preparatory sketch for Puvis de Chavanne's monumental mural Ave Picardia Nutrix (Hail, Picardy, the Nourisher), executed for a large staircase in the Musée de Picardie in Amiens, France. In the second half of the nineteenth century, a new interest in the unique history and culture of France's various regions arose. This type of regional patriotism is evident in Puvis' painting, which is an idealized representation of Picardy, a region north of Paris known for its apple harvest. In this early sketch, Puvis is still working out a number of details. In the lower right is a study of four nude men laboring around a large press, turning apples into cider. A large, more detailed study of one of the toiling men dominates the upper part of the page. Below is a small schematic sketch in graphite of the spokes of the press seen from above, and perhaps indicating the placement of the figures. // We are grateful to Dr. Marianne Le Morvan for clarifying the provenance of this work.