On loan to The Met The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
A Blacksmith's Shop
Joseph Wright (Wright of Derby) British
Not on view
In the early 1770s, Wright of Derby created a series of paintings depicting iron forges and blacksmiths’ shops. In this example, two men work late at night, making horseshoes in a smithy located in the ruins of a medieval church or abbey. Wright built the painting around a series of contrasts—between, for example, moonlight and the glow of the forge, the ancient architecture and the makeshift interior, or the laboring men and the horse waiting patiently to be shod. In these paintings, intended for public exhibition and discussion, Wright meditated upon the profound transformation of the English countryside as industrialization and urbanization gathered speed.
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