Usine de fabrication d'armement à Lyon : la forge

Painted in 1916 and held at the Musée d'Art moderne de Troyes, this work depicting a forge at a Lyon armaments factory was produced as part of Vuillard's wartime documentary project. Despite his age (48 in 1916) and unsuitability for active service, Vuillard was commissioned—along with other French artists including Bonnard—to document the French war effort, particularly industrial production. The armaments factory, with its dramatic forge light and industrial labor, was a radical departure from his domestic Intimism, though he brought his characteristic observational intensity to the unfamiliar subject.

The forge's intense heat and light provide Vuillard with dramatic illumination quite unlike his typical domestic light sources. The glowing metal and workers' silhouettes create strong light-dark contrasts that give this industrial scene an almost dramatic character, with his canvas handling adapting his usual mat, considered touch to the more intense visual energy of the forge.