Fridolin Assists with the Holy Mass

This watercolor illustrates a scene from "The Way to the Forge," a poem by Friedrich Schiller (1759 - 1805). Fridolin, a young page, is threatened with death by a villainous rival. On the way to an iron forge whose smiths have been ordered to throw him into the furnace, he stops at a country church and assists the priest in performing the Mass--a deed that saves his life.

The luminous colors and graceful lines, typical of the artist's style, made Peter Fendi one of the leading Austrian artists of his time.