Early 20th Century Italian Satirical Bronze Sculptures A Pair of Young Blacksmiths

Early 20th Century Italian Satirical Bronze Sculptures A Pair of Young Blacksmith figures resting on two turned black marble bases. A pair of figurative sculptures, two young blacksmiths, probably two apprentices; one is near the anvil suffering from having stepped on his finger while forging and the other is laughing out loud at his colleague’s misfortune.

The two bronze figures are examples of the current of social realismwhich, starting from the second half of the 19th century, investigated the unfavorable conditions of work; in this case, however, they are interpreted in a satirical key, capturing a funny moment in the sad chapter of child exploitation.

Of excellent execution, they do not bear any signature or inscription and date back to the first decades of the 1900s.