Ferro 1938

This is Candido Portinari's 'Ferro', and right away I can see that this isn't just a picture of a steel mill, but a painted space where the weight and heft of labor are palpable. The muted palette of grays, browns, and blues isn’t dreary, but feels descriptive of the subject. The figures, caught in different movements of labor, have a solidity to them, an almost sculptural presence. It's like Portinari built them up with the paint, stroke by stroke, each one defining and giving shape to the strenuous tasks at hand. Look at the worker with his arm raised, tool in hand. His body is divided by light and shadow, as if he is the embodiment of the transition from labor to rest, action to contemplation. Painting is a way of thinking, like labor itself. Each application of paint builds upon the last, refining and revealing new aspects of the subject. Portinari seems to be saying that we are all interconnected, engaged in a shared endeavor of shaping the world around us.