Niccolo at Work
Title
Niccolo at Work
Alt Text Description
Grayscale illustration of four artisans in an iron forge. One artisan stands in the sender, a mallet propped up on his knee.
Description
Niccolò turns from the anvil and rests his hammer on his hip as he speaks with Tito, while the other smiths work the bellows and strike the iron beside him. The forge, tools, and poised bodies anchor their conversation in the making of weapons for the city’s defense.
"Against the red light framed in by the outline of the fluted tiles and columns stood in black relief the grand figure of Niccolo, with his huge arms in rhythmic rise and fall, first hiding and then disclosing the profile of his firm mouth and powerful brow. Two slighter ebony figures, one at the anvil, the other at the bellows, served to set off his superior massiveness" ("The Garment of Fear", Chapter 26).
"Against the red light framed in by the outline of the fluted tiles and columns stood in black relief the grand figure of Niccolo, with his huge arms in rhythmic rise and fall, first hiding and then disclosing the profile of his firm mouth and powerful brow. Two slighter ebony figures, one at the anvil, the other at the bellows, served to set off his superior massiveness" ("The Garment of Fear", Chapter 26).
Illustrator
Leighton, Frederic (1830-1896)
Contributor
Swain, Joseph (1820-1909), engraver
Publisher
George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett, https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org
Date
1863, 1880
Rights
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Work Illustrated
Romola
Citation
Leighton, Frederic (1830-1896), Niccolo at Work, George Eliot Illustrations Gallery, George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett, https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed September 7, 2026. https://www.georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/83595
Illustration
