Details
Image(s)
TitleMusical Picture Clock with Automata 'the Farrier'
Creator Xavier Tharin
PlaceParis (France)
Year ca. 1860
Object number0077
Object categorymechanical instruments with playing comb, music boxes
Object namemusic box with cylinder, schilderij met uurwerk
DescriptionThe movement is mounted in the crown of the frame. The dial of this French mantel clock is flanked by gilded angels. When the music plays, the following elements of the painting are set in motion: the blacksmith on the left is shoeing a horse's hoof, the dog is wagging its tail, the two blacksmiths on the right are hammering on the anvil and the servant is pulling the rope of the bellows.
Accompanying textsRepertoire: 1. Cachucha 2. Valse Giselle, Adolphe Adam 3. Galop de Gustave, Rossini
A farrier's workshop or a village setting were characteristic parts of the 'street scene' in the 19th century imagination. In painting, genre pieces depicting everyday life were popular in the Netherlands as early as the 17th century, and in the 18th and 19th centuries they also found eager demand in England and France. So, it is not inconceivable that this 'trend' led to a seemingly everyday depiction also inspiring instrument makers. Because even though this really is a clock, it is, of course, above all a painting. A painting that comes to life: a showpiece for entertainment.
A farrier's workshop or a village setting were characteristic parts of the 'street scene' in the 19th century imagination. In painting, genre pieces depicting everyday life were popular in the Netherlands as early as the 17th century, and in the 18th and 19th centuries they also found eager demand in England and France. So, it is not inconceivable that this 'trend' led to a seemingly everyday depiction also inspiring instrument makers. Because even though this really is a clock, it is, of course, above all a painting. A painting that comes to life: a showpiece for entertainment.
Dimensions
geheel height: 108 cm
geheel width: 94 cm
geheel depth: 22.5 cm
geheel width: 94 cm
geheel depth: 22.5 cm
Digital references