萊昂‧奧古斯汀‧雷荷密特（Léon Augustin Lhermitte, 1844-1925）是法國十九世紀晚期的製圖師、插畫家和畫家。自幼生長在法國北方聖皮赫山（Mont-Saint-Père）農村的雷荷密特，向來偏好描繪農民生活和工作的場景。1880年後，雷荷密特開始創造其最為著名的「莊嚴風格」（Grand Manner）。此一系列的作品仍延續他向來喜愛的農民工作和休閒生活等題材，但雷荷密特卻刻意使用歷史畫般的巨幅尺寸，並更加聚焦在農民辛勞工作時的神情與動作，營造出一系列具有紀念碑式性質的繪畫作品。

目前藏於奇美博物館的【客棧內部】即為「莊嚴風格」系列中的第一件作品。畫中描繪一群聚集在褐色長桌旁觀看女子倒酒的男士們。 其中，坐在長桌右邊、身穿白衫褐褲、雙手各執鍬與玻璃杯的男子，向來被認為是雷荷密特所創造出來的農民英雄角色——「卡西米爾之父」（le pére Casimir），亦有一說是位名為卡西米爾‧迪翰（Casimir Dehan）的老農民。雖無法確知男子的確切身分，但卻是雷荷密特莊嚴風格系列中最為重要的一個元素。雷荷密特除了透過男子手中的鍬、身上樸素的服飾，來暗示畫中人物勞動階級的身分，同時也透過衣服陳舊且略帶髒汙之感反映勞動階級人民的生活清貧。此外，其歷盡日曬風霜的面容和肌膚則暗示著其工作的艱辛。然而，男子樸實有力的體態、拄著鋤頭並昂首挺坐在椅子上的姿態，不僅流露出一股莊嚴的氣勢，亦凸顯出其英雄氣質。(徐鈺涵)

Léon Augustin Lhermitte was a French painter in the late 19th century who particularly favored scenes of peasants at work and at leisure. He was born in a farming village in northern France and was met with the changes in industrialization and urban lifestyle. He, as well as many intellectuals, was influenced by the trend of “peasants as heroes”, aspiring to a self-sufficient pastoral life in the belief that peasants unyielding to heavy workloads were heroes in their true colors. In 1880, Lhermitte began to produce his most well-known “Grand Manner” series. He depicted peasants on large canvases similar to those used for historical paintings, with a focus on the expressions and actions of peasants toiling in the field to create a series of monumental themed paintings.
The Tavern Interior was the first piece in Lhermitte’s grand manner series. At a long brown table gather a few men watching a woman pouring liquor. The main figure is the man sitting at the right of the long table who is wearing a white shirt and brown pants, holding a spade and a glass in his hands. This is the peasant hero created by Lhermitte, known as Le Pére Casimir. Another story goes that the painting was in fact based on a real figure, an old peasant named Casimir Dehan.
Le Pére Casimir is one of the most important themes in Lhermitte’s grand manner series. By depicting the spade in hand and the torn and rusty look of the clothing, the painter reveals the status of the labor class and the reality of their sheer poverty. The weather-beaten face and complexion imply their laborious work, yet his bulky figure and upright sitting posture with a spade in hand show not only a grand atmosphere but also a heroic temperament.(Yu Han HSU)