The Forge
1861
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1861
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
The Forge is a 1861 ink by James McNeill Whistler, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
The painting shows a group of people working around a central workbench and anvil. The scene is filled with details of everyday life, like people working and talking. The use of cross-hatching creates a lot of shading and texture. This artwork uses a technique called chiaroscuro to create depth and contrast between light and dark areas, similar to what you'd see if you looked into the work of the technique: chiaroscuro.
