Metal Workers 1925

This print of metal workers was made by Martin Petersen, and look at the scene he's created with all those lines! It feels almost like a photograph, right? But think about the labor involved, the kind of intense looking it takes to describe a scene this way. You know, it reminds me of being in the studio, just surrounded by stuff, the detritus of making. I can almost feel Petersen there, bending over his plate, the light just so, his eyes squinting. Was he thinking about other artists who depicted labor, like Courbet maybe? I'm struck by the way Petersen uses line to create form. Look at the aprons, the way the marks follow the contours of their bodies. It's not just about depicting metal workers; it's about feeling the weight of their work, the grit, and the beauty of labor captured through Petersen’s touch.