ERNEST BIÉLER (1863-1948)

A Savièse farmer sits at a table. The title of the painting betrays that he is a bachelor. In his right hand he holds an open pocket knife and in front of him potatoes in a tin bowl, one of the main foods in winter. He seems to be arguing with a person not shown on his left. Are they discussing the potato beetle plague in France, on which the newspaper Nouvelliste valaisan reported at the time? In the background is an unadorned wooden wall and a window overlooking a landscape of snow-covered houses.
The artist noted on the back of the painting that six model sessions took place between the 6th and 10th of March 1923. These were probably held in his studio. While the subject is reminiscent of Vincent van Gogh's The Potato Eaters, Le Vieux Garçon refrains from social criticism. Although the man's face is sun-tanned, his hands are neither gnarled nor do they show that they were used to till the soil. Biéler rather subordinates what is depicted to the aesthetic effect. Thus the man in the picture wears a hat inside, and in the background the sparseness of the wall on the left emphasizes the decorative effect of the snow-covered houses on the right. Biéler succeeds in a convincing way to unite genre, portrait, still life and landscape in this painting.

We are grateful to Ethel Mathier for her help researching the work and for this catalogue entry. This work will be included in the catalogue raisonné of Ernest Biéler prepared by Ethel Mathier.