Graphite on paper
Tate Collection
Works with images
General Collection
ARTIST ROOMS
National Heritage Memorial Fund
Art Fund
Collection
<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>
Young Blacksmith with his Work
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
abstraction
adults
anvil
architecture
Beuys, Joseph
blacksmith
clothing and personal items
figure
from recognisable sources
hat
industrial
industrial and crafts
man
named individuals
objects
people
portraits
pylon
self-portraits
tools and machinery
work and occupations
paper unique graphite
Young Blacksmith with his Work
support: 214 × 268 mm
frame: 680 × 525 × 33 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>The figure in this drawing wears the same trilby hat as the artist, showing that Beuys is casting himself as the blacksmith, with the power to work metal, changing its form from solid to liquid using fire. The figure of the blacksmith had been of interest to Beuys since his childhood. At the age of eight he had played games based on the legend of Genghis Khan, and later explained that a rough translation of Genghis Khan was 'John Smith', meaning he would have been a blacksmith. In this role, working with fire to create tools and objects from metal, Beuys compared Khan to a shaman, another figure who appears in the artist's work.</p>

Online caption
2009-04-16T00:00:00
online-caption
ONLINE_CAPTION
abstraction adults anvil architecture Beuys, Joseph blacksmith clothing and personal items figure from recognisable sources hat industrial industrial and crafts man named individuals objects people portraits pylon self-portraits tools and machinery work and occupations