The Forge of Vulcan

Hans Jamnitzer II, German, 1538 - 1603
after Cornelis Bos, Dutch, 1506 - 1564
after Maarten van Heemskerck, Dutch, 1498 - 1574

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about 1573

Bronze with traces of gilding

Overall: 6 5/8 × 6 11/16 × 3/16 in. (16.9 × 17 × 0.5 cm)

Weight: 397 g (0.9 lb.)

Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Roger Arvid Anderson Collection - 250th Anniversary Gift, 1769-2019

2016.64.55

Geography

Place Made: Germany, Europe

Period

1400-1600

Object Name

Sculpture

Research Area

Sculpture

On view

Inscriptions

none

Label

The Greco-Roman god Vulcan was a master craftsman, and depictions of this strong, bearded, masculine figure toiling at his forge were popular among sculptors and metalworkers as a reflection of their own work. The three examples here vary in their size and intended function but share a focus on the labor of the mythological creator and his workshop rather than their products. The idealized bodies of Vulcan and his workers celebrate the process of metalworking and position sculptors as worthy of admiration for the physicality of their craft in addition to their artistic ingenuity.

From the 2024 exhibition Living with Sculpture: Presence and Power in Europe, 1400–1750, curated by Elizabeth Rice Mattison, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programming and Curator of European Art and Ashley Offill, Curator of Collections

Course History

History 42.01, Women's Gender, and Sexuality Studies 22.01, Gender & European Society, Patrick Meehan, Spring 2024

History 96.39, Saints and Relics, Cecilia Gaposchkin, Spring 2024

Italian 1.01, Introductory Italian I, Noemi Perego, Spring 2024

Italian 11.01, Intensive Italian, Floriana Ciniglia, Spring 2024

Italian 2.01, Introductory Italian II, Floriana Ciniglia, Spring 2024

Italian 3.01, Introductory Italian III, Tania Convertini, Spring 2024

Italian 3.02, Introductory Italian III, Giorgio Alberti, Spring 2024

Exhibition History

Ivan Albright Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, April 17-July 18, 2001.

Living with Sculpture: Presence and Power in Europe, 1400–1750, Citrin Family Gallery and Engles Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, March 23, 2024–March 22, 2025.

Publication History

Roger Arvid Anderson, The Roger Arvid Anderson Collection, Medals, Medallions, Plaquettes and Small Reliefs, Paintings, Sculpture, Works on Paper and Textiles, San Francisco: Roger Arvid Anderson (published privately), design by David L. Wilson, 2015, p. 201.

Provenance

Cyril Humphris, London, before 1991; sold to Roger Arvid Anderson, San Francisco, California, March 1991; lent to present collection, 1993; given to present collection, 2016.

Catalogue Raisonne

Wixom, No. 220; Weber, No. 475

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