Skip to main content

Gabriel Metsu, 'The Interior of a Smithy', about 1657

About the work

From the world of outdoors, a horseman – dashing, smart and confident – has stepped into the gloomy interior of a blacksmith’s shop. He strikes a superior pose and his status is underlined by his expensive scarlet coat, its gold braid and the hilt of his sword glittering in the dim light. While the horseman stands upright and aloof, the blacksmith, in a simple apron and shirt, bends to his task. His hammer is ready to strike the red-hot iron of a horseshoe.

Scenes of tradesman at their work, like this one, were popular. Metsu seems to have found particular success in depicting blacksmith shops – this is one of several which he made around this time. His success depended partly on very precise observation and the meticulous painting of detail. Here we see the blacksmith’s tongs, pliers, hammers and punches on their racks above the forge, and glow of the hot iron.

Key facts

Full title
The Interior of a Smithy
Artist
Gabriel Metsu
Artist dates
1629 - 1667
Date made
about 1657
Medium and support
oil on canvas
Dimensions
65.4 × 73.3 cm
Inscription summary
Signed
Acquisition credit
Salting Bequest, 1910
Inventory number
NG2591
Location
Not on display
Collection
Main Collection
Previous owners

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

More works by Gabriel Metsu

A Man and a Woman seated by a Virginal
A Man and a Woman seated by a Virginal
Gabriel Metsu
A young couple seem about to strike up a duet. The woman, seated at the keyboard of a virginal, hands her partner a musical score, presumably the part for the violin on the table next to him. Scenes of music making among young people were common in seventeenth-century Dutch painting, and they wou...
Room 16
A Woman seated at a Table and a Man tuning a Violin
A Woman seated at a Table and a Man tuning a Violin
Gabriel Metsu
Metsu has highlighted the woman seated at the table – light from the high window falls on her bright red bodice – to confirm her as the centre of our attention.Her companion or teacher tunes his violin in the background, catching our eye with an inscrutable stare. It isn’t clear whether the viola...
Not on display
A Young Woman seated drawing
A Young Woman seated drawing
Gabriel Metsu
This woman is engrossed in sketching a stone bust; hanging over the edge of the table is an engraving. Copying sculpture and images such as this was part of an artist’s training. In the background we can see an easel, as well as books, a globe and a classical arch and column, which evoke a wider...
Room 17
An Old Woman with a Book
An Old Woman with a Book
Gabriel Metsu
One of Gabriel Metsu’s great strengths as an artist was his ability to absorb ideas and influences from other artists. Here he has borrowed a device from Gerrit Dou, who had probably trained him in Leiden a few years earlier.Dou had found success with a series of ‘niche paintings’ – scenes, somet...
Not on display
Two Men with a Sleeping Woman
Two Men with a Sleeping Woman
Gabriel Metsu
The objects on the table – an innkeeper’s slate, playing cards, a pipe, a silver cup, a tankard and a backgammon box – imply that this is a tavern. The sleeping woman might be the innkeeper’s wife, a barmaid or, possibly, a prostitute, and the painting is drawing attention to her vices. Cards and...
Room 17