Brass Casting

Brass Casting is a composition focused on the unity of work by a master of turn-of-the-century Dutch painting. Heyenbrock spent his career painting much of the local industry, and travelled extensively building his portfolio of work. He painted the miners of the Borinage coal mining district in Belgium, the shipbuilders of Scotland, the stonecutters and loggers of Sweden, and all manners of work throughout Western Europe. He sought to capture entire work processes, from raw material through production, providing a complete view of industry.

Here we glimpse a foundry interior in which six men surround a mold that is being poured using a double-handled pouring shank holding a crucible of molten metal. Four men—two at each end—manage the tilting/tipping of the ladle while two men in the background look on. White smoke billows forth as a result of the activity, an indication that brass is being poured.

As Heyenbrock was inspired by history, factories, and industry, he became known in his native Dutch as de schilder van licht en arbeid, or the painter of light and work. He further pursued his passion by founding the Museum van den Arbeid—The Museum of Work—which opened in Amsterdam in 1929 (now the NEMO Science Museum).