Blacksmith in Art

[Mike BR]

The bellows drive in the forge illustration isn't a million miles from a flatrod system.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatrod_system

[Frosty]

Thanks Mike! I'm more than a little amazed with the flatrod mechanisms. The Wiki article has animations and videos of them in action. Transmitting mechanical power kilometers from the wheel to the mine or whatever. I'll probably be reading about these for some time.

Very cool engineering.

 Frosty The Lucky.

[Mike BR]

I've seen a couple of restored ones operating in Sweden.  Walking around a corner (so to speak) and seeing something I'd had no idea existed was pretty memorably

[Nobody Special]

Been down at a four-day drill with the guard...but picked up my copy of Theophilus and it had some cool illustrations, and then I went full rabbithole. Found a cool set of 15th century watercolors from the Mendel Hausbuch; if you google it, they're not all under "blacksmith", but rather smith, nailmaker, armorer, etc. 

This one technically isn't blacksmithing, it's a 16th century goldsmith shop, but...

 

[JHCC]

Franz Eybl, The Interior of a Forge, 1847, oil on canvas

[Frosty]

Without getting into the artist's interpretation. It has me wondering about the characters in the painting. Mostly the person sitting down in the left foreground. Is he an apprentice watching the master, hoping to get the chance to try it himself (etc.?) Or is he the customer waiting while his knife, axe, etc. is sharpened?

Hmmmm?

Frosty The Lucky.

[JHCC]

While visiting a donor to discuss a number of artworks he’s interested in giving to our art museum, I spotted this nice chalk drawing of a blacksmith at work. With the kind permission of its owner, I took this photo. 

The artist is Henri Gervex (1852-1929), a native of Paris, France. 

[Frosty]

Nice, thanks for sharing John.

Frosty The Lucky.

[JHCC]

The bookplate of Ukrainian Oleh Bonkovskyy includes an image of St. Dunstan shoeing the devil.