German School
16th century
Three Nude Blacksmiths at an Anvil
6 3/16 x 4 1/16 inches (156 x 103 mm)
Pen and brown ink with opaque white and black ink on laid paper.
2009.360
The Joseph F. McCrindle Collection.
Summary
In this anonymous German drawing, three men potently swing hammers in a studio for metalwork, while their companion selects a club in the background. The men are in the midst of crafting a helmet and its counterpart, a piece of armor to protect the chest, lies in the sheet's foreground. Since the laborers are nude, it is probable that this sketch is an allegory of one of the elements. Giorgio Vasari and Cristofano Gherardi frescoed a not dissimilar configuration of men working at a forge in the sala degli elementi in Palazzo Vecchio between 1555 and 1557.
Associated names
McCrindle, Joseph F., former owner.
Artist
Classification
Century Drawings
School
Catalog link
Department