The Vulcan's Forge Analysis

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Auguste Rodin is perhaps best known for his iconic bronze sculpture The Thinker. Amongst his other works is another bronze piece titled The Vulcan’s Forge, cast in 1905. The rectangular relief sculpture features a group of five ancient Roman men smithing at a forge. The group is transfixed on their tiring task to the point that they have no connection to the world around them, nor do they have notable purpose; they are slaves to their work. Additionally, the juxtaposition of archaic subject matter in a modern piece leads me to believe Rodin is opposed to classical hypermasculinity and the traditional idea that hard work is done by men. The sculpture is the color of the alloy it is cast in and has a smooth, shiny surface. Despite the overall …show more content…
The foreground is high-relief and invades the viewer’s space. Centered at the bottom is a simple pedestal with an anvil on its surface. Nearly equidistant from it are the two outermost workers who stand across from each other and are practically at edges of the piece. Aside from both figures’ farthest legs, their bodies greatly stick out of the surface. When seen from a three-quarter or side view, the men look as if they are trying to escape the work, or rather escape the prison that is their work. Three other men, whose heads and arms stick out more than the rest of their bodies, occupy the less chiseled middle ground in between the two other figures, creating a half circle around the anvil. The leftmost man holds the metal being shaped while the rest of the group uses sledgehammers. There is also a little boy situated behind the man on the far right; he holds an indiscernible object (likely an armor piece) in front of himself, and there is a circular shield on the ground between him and the laborer he sits behind. Perhaps he is destined for the same work as the men he likely admires. The background is shallowly carved and features walls that never meet in the middle; the left wall ends at the right shoulder of the man second from the left, while the right wall ends at the middle of the rightmost man’s

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