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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Horological object · Place not recorded

The Workshop of Yesteryear

Verified

This large-scale painting is a realistic interpretation of a workshop producing watch hands, probably in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The atmosphere is one of order, concentration and serenity.

Technical facts

Inventory number
MIH V-417
Object type
Not recorded
Dating
1905 - 1910
Materials and techniques (catalogue wording)
Peinture à l'huile, Toile
Dimensions (catalogue)
dimensions: 136 x 195 cm

Historical significance

  • This large-scale painting is a realistic interpretation of a workshop producing watch hands, probably in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The atmosphere is one of order, concentration and serenity.
  • The movements of the workers as they devote themselves to their successive tasks (stamping the hands with press-tools, engraving and finishing at the work benches, sorting and arranging the pieces in partitioned boxes) and the details of the furniture and accessories, all scrupulously observed, are accentuated by the light pouring through the large double-glazed windows.

Photographs

The Workshop of Yesteryear (MIH V-417)
The Workshop of Yesteryear (MIH V-417) — Musée international d'horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Museum collection photograph, rights review pending. MIH collection record

Photographs are illustrative examples of the type, not necessarily the exact object described. Verify details against the source file page.

Sources & references

  1. Musée international d'horlogerie, online collection record, inv. V-417: https://collection.mih.ch/fr/collection/item/28711/

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.