Forge Of Vulcan

Art Criticism: The Forge of Vulcan

The Italian painter, Leandro Bassano (1557-1622) created the oil on canvas piece known as “The Forge of Vulcan.” “The Forge of Vulcan” was created circa 1590-1610 in his father Jacopo Bassano’s workshop according to Brigstocke. During this time in history the Duke of Alba was sent to the Netherlands to defeat Margaret of Parma and became governor according to Bellamy. The invention of the printing press was a huge technological advancement that enabled numerous copies quickly made available to many people. (Dondi) The literal objects in the painting include two different men with hammers, pots and pans, an apprentice, a vase, a baby angel in the foreground, a dog, and trees and sky with clouds in the background.
The colors make the work dramatic and give it the feeling that the work the men are doing is not easy. The shapes are mainly used in for inanimate objects within the painting; they are very intentional to make it clear the importance of what is actually going on within the work. The lines within the work do not hold a great importance within the piece other than helping to define what is taking place within the piece. The illusions of texture on objects are abundant on every object making them look incredibly real. The light source is coming from the right side of the work creating the illusion of glowing and flowing light in the colors of the clothing and off faces. The shadows aid in giving the viewer the idea that the work is complicated, dirty, and overall hard work. The visual effect creates a very dark mood, which helps create the mood of the people in the painting. Using textures, focal points, gridlines, contour and linear lines to recreate a scene of what would have been common in the culture of the time and place the artist is able to invoke raw emotion without ever having to say a
I believe it means these skill would be difficult to complete and something that takes great time and patience and required a great deal of energy. For me it touches a special spot in my heart as a painter and I view it with a tremendous amount of respect knowing that the time required to create the depths and the shadows and drapery on the clothing would take a master craftsman to create. It relates deeply to me and my life not only as a painter but as a student I see it like I see most of my life not being one to take the easiest road but instead choosing to work harder and achieve more goals. I just have the feeling of finding the light in a dark place finding myself wanting to pick up a hammer and help with the labor that would have been a tolling job. I do think there could be symbols in the painting that represent other things like the baby angel represents divine power intervening to help complete the tasks at hand. I believe this was probably a common form of painting at the time and he came from a family of painters so it would not be surprising if he did not learn some of this technique from his elders within his family. I believe he was probably trained to paint using this technique probably because it is the most effective method to invoke the emotions felt by the viewers of