Hammerschmiede der Familie Mall in Bruck an der Amper 

Curator: This pencil drawing is titled "Hammerschmiede der Familie Mall in Bruck an der Amper." It’s housed here at the Städel Museum. Editor: It has such a stark and imposing atmosphere, wouldn't you agree? Almost monumental in its greyscale austerity, although the source of this feeling isn't immediately apparent to me. Curator: I think the artist really wants us to reflect on the weight of tradition, quite literally. The hammer forges represent the family lineage and the tools as emblems. Consider how, over generations, this same scene would have played out— the sounds, the smells, the constant hammering echoing a lineage of labor. Editor: Right. And you see the immense weight, physically rendered in the heft of these massive timber machines. I am intrigued by their state of decay and ruin; some sit inert with wood clearly cracked by weather. There’s this almost contradictory relationship: these objects represent enduring family history, and their ruin implies both inevitable degradation, obsolescence, and perhaps a shift in modes of production? Curator: Perhaps. Note also how the scene, though quite detailed, offers few clues about human activity, there is only stillness in what should be loud activity. Instead, it focuses on objects loaded with layers of history, now standing inert. I also see it evoking ideas of industry transformed, skills passed from one hand to the next. I wonder if the artist had any awareness about the potential psychological impact. Editor: Absolutely. And, aesthetically, I'm fascinated by the artist's command over what must have been limited materials. A lot is achieved with minimal marks that show skilled labor. Notice how all the subtle layering adds an entire sense of age to the heavy, grounded bases— they’ve become a testament to all of those years of physical toil. Curator: It does highlight an almost forgotten part of social and cultural identity. What resonates with you, as you leave? Editor: I leave recognizing how processes of manufacturing, though always material and visible, bear the hidden emotional and psychological loads of our shared past. Curator: For me, I leave sensing the drawing offers a glimpse into the passage of time, how something enduring can also inevitably succumb to disuse.