Visit to the Iron Rolling Mill (in commemmoration of Eduard Arnhold’s 25 years as partner at the Caesar Wollheim coal company, 1 January 1900)

This gouache, notable for the artist’s free brush style, is one of Menzel’s final colour works, produced when he was 85 years of age. The work is dedicated to an acquaintance with whom the artist enjoyed a cordial relationship: the merchant, art collector, and active Jewish patron, Eduard Arnhold. The man shown on the right of the foreground, wearing a striking grin as he smokes his pipe, represents the world of workers, whose employment was guaranteed by Arnhold’s activities as a coal merchant. The group on the far left comprises the guest of honour, to whom the director of a foundry extends his hand, and his family. He is accompanied in the picture by a large, shaggy tracking dog. The animal is depicted mid-jump, its trajectory serving to direct the gaze directly towards the two men’s cordial handshake, and hence highlighting the mutual trust betokened by the gesture. The dog links up various elements of the picture and so plays an integral role in the composition, as is evident in the colour of its fur, which brings together the gouache’s basic palette. Furthermore, the dog lends a more relaxed note to what would otherwise be a somewhat stylized and formal scene, while functioning as a playful intermediary between the human subjects and the stark social divide they embody.