1865
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
The Blacksmith Shop is a 1865 by Charles Jacque, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This black-and-white sketch shows a busy blacksmith shop. Three men work around a large horse—one holds its leg while another hammers a shoe. Tools and metal scraps litter the dirt floor, and chickens peck nearby. A half-finished horseshoe lies on an anvil, and a ladder leans against the wall. The artist focused on the gritty details of daily labor, showing how hard work and animals shared the same space. The title *La Maréchalerie* (The Blacksmith Shop) hints this was a common scene in 19th-century France. Next, check out Realism to see how artists like Jacque depicted everyday life.
Charles-Émile Jacque (23 May 1813 – 7 May 1894) was a French painter of Pastoralism and engraver who was, with Jean-François Millet, part of the Barbizon School. He first learned to engrave maps when he spent seven years in the French Army.
See the richer artist page
