Distribution of Wine and Food (1822)

Louis Léopold Boilly: Distribution of Wine and Food

Another great scene by Boilly. The distribution of food and beverages to the public to mark special occasions was a tradition of the Ancien Régime. In 1806, the practice was restored by Napoleon when the 15th August became Saint Napoleon's Day. In the above scene of chaotic disorder, men and women are climbing all over each other to get their hands on something to drink. The central group is one great tangle of grasping limbs, as men clamber onto each other's backs to grab for the wine. Even the dogs in the foreground are fighting; neither will let go of a hat that's fallen off someone's head in the mad rush. [All Things Considered]