Quarry

Wouter Verschuur was a Dutch Romantic painter who specialized in livestock painting, particularly horses in working scenes. He exhibited his first painting at the age of 15 and was appointed a member of the Royal Academy in Amsterdam at the age of 21. His prodigious nature, coupled with the popularity of his paintings, provided him with the wherewithal to travel widely and paint freely.

Verschuur’s Quarry provides an opportunity to study both livestock at work in heavy transport but also the engineering behind the harvest of stone below the Earth’s surface. While the transport of stone is the primary theme of this painting, it is the red lifting wheel that dominates the scene. These lifting wheels, featured in several paintings in this gallery, allowed for a one-ton block to be raised from 100 yards below the surface using only the power provided by a few workers. The large diameter of the wheel greatly reduced the force required to lift the heavy blocks by multiplying the torque on the shaft, making the load much ‘lighter’ by turning a large wheel rather a small one. Much like a large gear on a bicycle is easier to turn than a small gear.

This painting has also prompted a great deal of debate among Museum staff, docents, and patrons. Where do you stand? Is the horse trying mightily to start moving the load up the incline? Or is he struggling to stop the load from moving? You be the judge.