Spanish Smiths

In 1881 Ernst Josephson travelled to Spain accompanied by the painters Anders Zorn, Hugo Birger and Christian Skredsvig. Their aim was to see the works of the great Spanish masters in the museums and to depict Spanish peasant life. Ernst Josephson’s Spanish Smiths was painted in Triana, the area of Seville dominated by the Romani. The artist has himself described how the smiths asked if he could portray them standing outside their smithy. A later version of the work can be seen in the National Gallery in Oslo.