Graphite on card
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<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/joseph-beuys-747" aria-label="More by Joseph Beuys" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">Joseph Beuys</a>
Blacksmith II
ARTIST ROOMS
Acquired jointly with the National Galleries of Scotland through The d'Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Art Fund 2008
actions: postures and motions
adults
blacksmith
hammer
industrial and crafts
male
man
nudes
objects
people
tools and machinery
walking
work and occupations
paper unique graphite card
Blacksmith II
support: 210 × 297 mm
frame: 675 × 541 × 28 mm
<a href="/search?gid=999999788" data-gtm-name="tombstone_link_bequest" data-gtm-destination="list-page--search-results">ARTIST ROOMS</a>
Acquired jointly with the National Galleries of Scotland through The d'Offay Donation with assistance from the <a href="/search?gid=999999967" data-gtm-name="tombstone_link_bequest" data-gtm-destination="list-page--search-results">National Heritage Memorial Fund</a> and the <a href="/search?gid=999999968" data-gtm-name="tombstone_link_bequest" data-gtm-destination="list-page--search-results">Art Fund</a> 2008
<p>In this pencil drawing, we see a statuesque male figure walking purposefully and holding a hammer, the tool of his trade. Beuys had a cousin who was a blacksmith and the artist showed an early interest in the trade, learning how to cast and forge iron when he was young. However, in later years, he would undoubtedly have been interested in the science behind the process and the changes that takes place in the metal to allow it to be shaped and formed. Blacksmiths appear in the legends of many cultures. Widely knowledgeable on legend and folklore, Beuys would have been aware of the Roman God Vulcan and the blacksmith Wayland Smith from Germanic legend.</p>

Online caption
2009-04-16T00:00:00
online-caption
ONLINE_CAPTION
actions: postures and motions adults blacksmith hammer industrial and crafts male man nudes objects people tools and machinery walking work and occupations