Interior of a Foundry

Defrance was a Belgian artist, who worked extensively in France. He travelled in Italy before settling in Liege where he eventually became Director of the Liege Academy. His work includes portraits, historical and religious subjects, but he was primarily a genre painter, specialising in industrial interiors with elegantly dressed aristocratic visitors. This picture is signed twice, once in the conventional manner, but also painted as though in molten metal poured into a mould. The date may have had special significance for Defrance as he took a prominent role in the revolutionary movement in Liege. This work was acquired with assistance from the Wolfson Foundation.