Le Feu 

Jean-André Rixens painted this oil on canvas, called "Le Feu," sometime in the late 19th century. It depicts a bare-chested laborer stoking a furnace, perhaps in a glass factory or ironworks. This image of industry reflects France’s rapid modernization at the time. The painting valorizes the working class, a common theme in Realist art, particularly in the context of the rise of socialist politics. The sooty, muscular figure is reminiscent of Romantic depictions of mythical heroes, though here the heroism resides in manual labor rather than military prowess. Rixens’s dark palette and dramatic lighting evokes the harsh conditions and intense heat of the factory. To understand this painting more fully, we might research the history of industrial labor in France. What kinds of art were commissioned by industrialists versus labor unions? What were the common attitudes towards the working class? These are the kinds of questions that reveal how art reflects and shapes social values.