H. Chr. Christensen, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of P.S. Krøyer, 1923, no. 340.

Exhibited: Kunstforeningen, “P. S. Krøyer 1851–1909”, 1910 no. 141.

Provenance: P.S. Krøyer's estate auction 1910 no. 92. Printer and art historian Dr. Phil Frederik Gotschalk Knudtzon (1843–1917), his estate auction, 13 February 1918, no. 8, here acquired by merchant S. Burmeister. Bruun Rasmussen auction 522, 1989 no. 659.

The present painting is a light study for “Fra Burmeister & Wains Jernstøberi” (From Burmeister & Wains Iron Foundry) (no. 343 in H. Chr. Christensen's catalogue raisonné). This painting - also from 1885 - is located at the National Gallery of Denmark (Inv. No. KMS3605) and measures 144×194 cm. In 1884, the founder of the company Burmeister and Wain Carl Christian Burmeister commissioned the painting from Krøyer, and in 1885, it was exhibited at Charlottenborg's Spring Exhibition, where it received great praise for its social realistic motif. With its glimpse into the workflow of an iron foundry, the painting became a portrait of the modern industry of the time. Krøyer made several studies for the finished work, in which he experimented with the composition and studied the light. In the present study, he has focused on the light from the embers of the molten iron, which is painted with coarse and pastose brush strokes, which give a very special materiality to the painting.