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Saint Monday, The Patron Saint of Drinkers -- A Modern Bacchus
Created by Jean Wendling, a French artist of the 19th century, The Giant Saint Monday – The Patron Saint of Drinkers\subtly critiques and celebrates the cultural nuances of leisure and drinking practices. Published in Épinal, France, the piece is notable for its integration of visual and textual narratives, featuring lyrics from a contemporary ballad set to the melody of "The Arbor of Sincerity." Each stanza corresponds to one of the figures prominently displayed in the foreground, enriching the image with a depth of narrative rarely seen in such works.
The central figure, the Giant Saint Monday, is depicted atop a wine barrel, surrounded by artisans in attitudes of veneration. This scene parodies traditional saintly iconography, with Saint Monday assuming the role of a modern Bacchus, thereby underscoring the piece's thematic focus on drinking culture. The background inclusion of patron saints of cobblers and a distant beer-garden scene further illustrates the blending of work, worship, and leisure, presenting a layered commentary on societal norms.
Wendling's image offers an examination of the early 19th-century phenomenon of "Saint Monday," a pseudo-holiday where workers would extend their weekends by avoiding work on Monday, often due to the excesses of the previous day. This practice, implicitly critiqued and celebrated here, reflects a form of passive resistance against the era's burgeoning industrial demands, providing insight into the social fabric of the time.
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