The Forge of the Heart 1529

print, engraving

toned paper

germany

pen drawing

print

pencil sketch

old engraving style

personal sketchbook

pen-ink sketch

pen and pencil

pen work

tattoo art

engraving

pencil art

"The Forge of the Heart" is an anonymous engraving from 1529. This piece features a complex design with four figures centered around a forge and a flaming heart. Two female figures, one clad in armor, hold instruments above the heart while a third female figure watches on. This scene is framed by a wreath of ivy and an architectural structure. The intricate details of the piece showcase the mastery of the anonymous artist. It's a beautiful, small-scale artwork available for viewing at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Comments

minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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This dazzling allegory is no bigger than a bookplate, which evidently it was. Its presumed owner was Willibald Pirckheimer, a prominent Nuremberg humanist and scholar (and Albrecht Dürer's best friend). Here Tribulation beats an anvil, Envy casts a disdainful glance, Hope looks up to see soothing drops fall on the flaming heart, and Tolerance rests patiently below. The iconography suggests that patience in the face of hardship brings grace, a fitting sentiment considering Pirckheimer was ill when the engraving was completed and died the following year.