Whisper by the picture Field of loaves in the Blast Furnace
The painting reflects a working day in the factory La Vizcaya in 1893. A very thick pipe, also known as the “black pudding”, surrounds the bottom of Alto Horno as if it were afloat.
Its mission was to blow hot air to maintain pressure and high temperature in the furnace. In the middle of the painting, underneath the black pudding, is the crucible, and as if it were a tap, red-hot iron is poured onto it; they called it to “sting the furnace”.
That liquid iron, called cast iron, flows down the canal and fills the narrow and long moulds grill to make ingots that will then be exported. It was then cheaper to transport a tonne of ingots than a tonne of mineral. That is why they started this factory.
Several workers help fill the moulds with long iron sticks. One is wearing a red beret, maybe the painter’s tribute to the last Carlist uprising.
On the left-hand side is a bucket full of water, waiting on the floor to help with the red-hot.
In the lower part of the painting, to the right, there is a cloud of smoke. In this process they used to pour caustic soda to get rid of the leftover sulphur. Can you imagine the fumes? In fact, one of the claims they made on the strikes of 1890 was to ban certain materials and production systems that were harmful to the worker’s health. It took centuries for them to be banned.
