Patricia A. Morrison
Because this unit aims at approaching chemistry through art, it requires illustrating how I would do this in a series of lessons. At times the lesson centers on Wright's painting; at other times
The Blacksmith's Shop
primarily serves as the jumping off point that grounds chemistry facts and concepts in concrete reality. Always in the forefront of my thought is the idea that knowledge increases not only our understanding of the world, but also our appreciation. Studying color theory, using it to produce an individual painting, and examining its application in
The Blacksmith's Shop
enables us to see more in this painting.2 Learning and understanding how electron arrangement, crystalline structure, and atomic structure create color adds meaning to the study of difficult material and heightens an appreciation for the world of color we take for granted. The following narrative focuses on information unique to this unit; the annotated bibliography directs teachers to information not included in most chemistry texts.
Description of
The Blacksmith's Shop
Paintings other than
The Blacksmith's Shop
could be used for this unit, but to use that painting effectively, the teacher needs to first describe the painting completely. The following description incorporates the detailed observations that the six student reports, combined, should include.
In
The Blacksmith's Shop
, an approximately 3 by 4 foot oil on canvas, Joseph Wright paints nine male figures, two horses and a dog inside a damaged building with the moon, partially obscured by clouds, peeking through an opening on the right. Various tools, horseshoes and other items litter the floor or hang from hooks. A patch of darkened sky shows through a hole in the roof. Three central figures standing around an anvil set on top of a tree stump focus intently on a piece of hot metal, which they are forging. In the right foreground one boy watches, one boy turns away, and an older man waits. Beyond an arched opening in the left background two other men and a dog huddle around a lighted candle looking at a horse's hoof while a boy holds the bridle of a second horse.
The three men grouped in the center are working on a long bar of iron which glows white hot at the larger end resting on the anvil, changes to red and then fades to black. The man on the left, his back to the viewer, grasps the cool end of the metal bar in his left hand, his arm extended in front of his body, and strikes the other end with a mallet clenched in his right hand. Sparks fly. The middle workman, who has a slightly receding hairline, faces forward with his left arm akimbo, curled fingers resting on his hip, wrist pointed down and palm facing his thigh. He twists his body to raise his right arm to shoulder height and bend his elbow forward and down. The first man's shoulder hides his right hand and all but the end of a handle from view. The workman on the right grasps a long handled sledgehammer with two hands, holding it above his left shoulder.
The workmen, all apparently clean-shaven, wear similar attire: white shirts with rolled up sleeves and a V-neckline opened almost to the waist. A long brown leather apron with a knee-height triangular tear, snug fitting brown britches with three buttons and a tie at the left knee, long socks tucked beneath the britches and bunched at the ankles, and buckled shoes complete the outfit of the man to the left. The middle workman's apron bib folds over at the waist.
The quality of the clothes of the three figures in the right foreground differs from that of the workmen. In the corner a clean-shaven older man with gray wavy hair and deep wrinkles creasing his brow straddles a gnarled log and rests his hands atop the handle of an upright mallet sitting on the log. A horseshoe hanging on the wall causes the mallet handle to resemble a cane. The man stares at the floor with downcast eyes. He wears a gray-green, knee length coat with brown lining, deep cuffs, and a matching wide brimmed, floppy, tam-like hat. The coat bunches on his upper left leg around one gold colored button. A touch of white protrudes below the left sleeve and a bit of gray-green waistcoat peeks from under his coat. A long matching scarf draped around his neck, brown britches and hose, and buckled shoes complete his attire.
Between the workmen and the seated man stand two boys, both with brown curly hair. The smaller lad inclines his head, turns away from the hot metal and covers his eyes. He wears a white shirt with collar and a red, "velvet" coat torn at the elbow and ending midway down his upper leg with ragged front edges. Three gold colored buttons decorate the front of his coat. His brown, snugly fitting pants, torn at the knee, gape open, exposing bare skin on his inner right leg. Unlike typical knee britches, these pants seem long enough to cover his socks above his instep. His left brown shoe lacks either a strap or buckle.
To the right stands a second, taller boy, his left hand in his pocket. His eyes are fixated on the workmen, but his right arm curls around the smaller boy's shoulders, hand bent upwards, shielding him from the glare. He wears a brown outer coat, white shirt, and a white "silk" scarf tied around his neck. His hiked up brown pants reveal his left knee and right calf. His socks bunch around his ankles above boot like shoes. A lace lies on the floor. Around his waist hangs a leather apron, one corner caught in a metal clasp.
A rounded arched entryway with an angel guarding the right side frames the remaining figures in the left background. A boy wearing a brown hat, black shirt and red-edged neckerchief watches the two men. The seated man wears brown a long coat, lighter britches, high boots and a narrow brimmed hat; all complemented by a white scarf tied around his neck. Hunched over, he points at the horse's hoof. A fourth workman bends over, left hand on his knee, and also looks.
The metal bar forms the dominant horizontal line, which extends to the back of the bent figure on the left and the top of the boy's apron on the right. Mortar between the bricks, pieces of twisted metal wire on the wall to the right, rows of horseshoes, and the ceiling beams beyond the arch echo this horizontal line. Architectural features such as pilasters, the sides of arched openings, and a brick wall protrusion, along with the standing figures, create vertical lines. A broken piece of wood dangling from the ceiling points to the vertical begun by the smaller boy's left leg and continuing up a column. The central man's right leg, head, and the shadow on the wall form another strong vertical. Ceiling beams and lines on the brick floor form background diagonals, but the most powerful diagonal passes from the upraised mallet down the swinger's forearm across creases in fellow workmen's apron and britches to the toolbox on the floor. The line from the older man's bent legs to light on the taller boy's calf, and the line from the light on his face to the light reflected on the larger boy's apron to the end of the smaller boy's red coat, together with the lines of the middle workman's forearms, run parallel to this diagonal.
Arches, heads, hats, the moon, horseshoes, the tops of stumps, shoulders, ears, curled hands, and bent knees and elbows provide a variety of curved lines, circles and ovals. Triangular shapes range from the tiny apron tear, to the straining tendons in the workman's neck, to the spaces between legs and arms, to the slightly irregular patch of sky in the ceiling and the tall shadow cast on the wall behind the workmen.
The metal bar provides the main source of light, but the moon and candle also shed light. The heated bar and the men's white shirts gleam most, but the moon, cloud edges, candle, and reflections on skin and clothing also glow. Darkness obscures the edges of the painting. Rusty red dominates the building stone, occasionally intensified in reflections on the hanging aprons, the bar, the red coat, and flushed cheeks. Brown dominates the clothing. The sky appears blue-gray.
Textures run the gamut from silky smooth scarves to rough stone and mortar. They include hair (both human and animal), hooves, skin, metal (both burnished finished products and coarse twisted wire), leather, fabric (cotton, wool, velvet, felt), wood, ashes, dirt, wax, and sweat.
Looking down from above one sees a triangular hole in the roof and the rectangular outline of an entire building or part of a building. Within the shop one notes circular heads and tree stumps, rectangular floor bricks, and three triangular groupings of people. Two groups almost touch. Bright light emerges from the center of one group, pale light from the center of a second group on the left, and the third group only reflects light. A long narrow rectangle, the beam bracing the walls, divides the scene while creating a powerful horizontal in three dimensions.
Deduction
The Blacksmith's Shop
Again, if the teacher selects a different painting she/he needs to carefully make deductions before asking the class to do this difficult exercise. It is very easy to inadvertently jump from observation to deduction, from deduction to speculation. The scientific method demands that we proceed cautiously and meticulously.
Anyone observing Joseph Wright's painting could readily entitle it
The Blacksmith's Shop
based on the anvil and other equipment and tools pictured, the suspended action of the three central figures, and the horseshoes hanging on the wall. The white hot metal on the anvil, together with the light shining through the apron tear, implies that an unseen fire burns in front of the man with his back to the viewer. A burning fire in a building requires a chimney for the smoke to exit. The brick protrusion, a chimney just to the right of the pilaster on the left, projects through the ceiling like an addition to the original structure. This implies that the blacksmiths adapted this abandoned building for their use. The crumbling walls and missing roof suggest abandonment.
The twisted position of the central figure with his raised right elbow, combined with the end of the handle just visible beyond the first man's shoulder, intimates he is operating the bellows, an essential piece of equipment in a blacksmith's shop. The bellows is required to increase the supply of air, hence oxygen, to the burning material to intensify the heat. The apparatus below the hanging aprons looks like a bellows and is properly positioned in relation to the unseen fire and chimney. We do not know what fuel burns, but the presence of tree stumps suggests wood. Posing coal as a possibility requires further research.
The stance of the man on the left with a sledgehammer raised over his shoulder suggests that he will strike the hot metal bar in order to flatten and shape it. The two men holding mallets probably strike the metal alternately, the longer handled sledge-hammer more suited to flattening because of the increased force it exerts, the shorter handled mallet for shaping because it is easier to control. The fact that the bar is heated indicates that heating iron makes the metal more malleable. The items hanging on the wall and lying on the floor give clues to possible pieces they are forging. The group on the left looking at the horse's foot implies the horse needs a new shoe and they are waiting for this shoe. Horses need metal shoes to prevent their hooves from wearing down when they carry or pull heavy loads or travel on hard surfaces.
The anvil provides a sturdy, non-flammable surface for the blacksmith's work. The stump raises the anvil to a convenient working level while providing a firm foundation. The leather aprons protect the workers from flying sparks and hot metal. The pole above the workmen's head suggests that the walls need bracing to prevent collapse. It, like the stump and their location in an abandoned building, imply that the blacksmiths are relatively poor but resourceful.
The sound of ringing metal drowns the murmur of voices from the group huddled on the left, the crackling fire, and the "swoosh" of air rushing from the bellows. Occasionally metal pieces lying on the floor, accidentally kicked together, clank, or a startled horse neighs and stomps. The stench of sweat mingles with the smell of horses, fire, decaying wood, and overall mustiness. Every once in awhile a gust of wind blowing through the broken walls on the right soothes and cools the over-heated figures around the anvil.
The blacksmiths' work fascinates the young boys to the extent that the older boy even dons a workman's apron. However, the intense light and flying sparks frighten the smaller boy, causing him to turn away. The other boy appears older, not only because of his added height, but, more importantly, because of his protective attitude toward the smaller boy. The physical closeness of the two boys and the larger boy's encircling arm hint that they might be brothers, perhaps twelve and eight years old.
Viewing this painting one senses the passage of time. First, day passes evidenced by the moon and lighted candle. Blacksmithing normally proceeds during daylight hours; what causes the workmen to labor so arduously into the night? Second, time passes over generations highlighted by the young boys who merely watch the skilled workmen who exude power. The workmen who have mastered their craft actively contribute to society; the older man on the right sits and contemplates them, his hands resting on the mallet that once he, too, might have wielded. Finally time passes over the ages as illustrated by the collapsing church.
Longer examination and contemplation of the painting begin to lead to speculation and a need for research. The ornate angels over the arched entryway suggest that this was a Roman Catholic Church or, at least, definitely not a protestant church. By locating the blacksmith's shop in an abandoned church, Wright intimates that God blesses the labors of the working man. The smithies provide a service for their fellow man. The light shines on their endeavors as they use their talents to solve a problem a horse in want of a shoe, a worker in need of a tool, a traveler in search of a wagon part and the shadow of their work points toward the heavens. The older man's clasped hands resting on the workman's mallet mirrors the stance of a person in prayer. He completes the cycle of life from inexperienced youth to the wisdom of old age. He reflects on the passage of time and power.
Why are the smithies laboring into the middle of the night? Is it because they are poor and are "moon lighting"? Are they working overtime? Why are the two boys and older man out at night? Are they traveling with the man on the left, related to the blacksmiths, or poor boys, intrigued by the working of a forge, who have come during their only free time? The boys torn and disheveled clothing suggests either poverty or an accident. The older man in the front foreground appears unhurt, but the man on the far left seems to be discussing the condition of the horse's hoof with a fourth workman, similarly attired, to those working on the metal bar. The disarray of both boys hints that either the horse they were riding together stumbled and threw them, or a mishap befell the coach in which they were all traveling, but as this is not something with which everyone would agree, it is again speculation, not deduction.
Despite the speculative possibility of an accident, this scene, seen from a position just out of the painting foreground to the left of the pensive older gentleman, fills the viewer with a sense of peace and appreciation for the dignity of man and his work. The warm rosy glow that surrounds the workers and spreads outward in all directions suggests that all will end well. The smithies exude an air of power, strength, and competence; the older gentleman, of patience and acceptance; the older boy, of eager interest in the adventure. The moonlight heightens the feeling of peace; the clouds will pass; the difficulties will end.
The preceding material provides the information needed to use
The Blacksmith's Shop
to introduce topics in chemistry and a variety of lessons for approaching science via art. Numerous other possibilities for enriching standard chemistry units and pursuing art-science research remain. When discussing electron configuration and the transition elements one can examine the standard paints used by artist and the effect of unfilled orbitals on color. Studying ionic compounds affords an opportunity to note the effect of crystalline structure, as well as particle size, on the scattering of light and, hence, color. Organic chemistry, which essentially started with color and the dye industry, invites questions on the differences between pigments and dyes, pigments used by the old masters versus pigments used by today's artists, the structure of organic pigments, and the causes of color in these compounds. In organic pigments, just as in inorganic pigments, electrons play a major role. All organic pigments contain areas of high electron density and contain double bonds, aromatic rings, or electronegative atoms. (Turner, 77)
As one delves deeper into the basic cause of color, more and more knowledge that is not included in a standard chemistry text is required. The annotated bibliography that follows directs teachers to this material and, I hope, will spark additional inquiries.