The Coppersmith
Author: Luiken, Jan, 1649-1712
Image Title: The Coppersmith
Scripture Reference:
- 2 Corinthians 4 (further images / scripture text)
Description: The coppersmith sits on a stool and is about to strike a large cylinder with his hammer; pots, pans, and kettles are on the floor or on shelves in his workshop. Outside, two assistants work on a huge copper cauldron. The Dutch artist and poet Jan Luiken (1649-1712) was responsible for drawing this emblem and for creating the motto and poem that follow. Jan Luiken and/or his son Casper Luiken (1672-1708) were responsible for its etching. The attendant scripture text is 2 Corinthians 4:8-11.
Motto:
When it’s ready,
It will be the end of the struggle.
Poem:
Many strokes have to fall,
Before the piece of work achieves its form:
Thus the hammer strikes the pious
With adversity, so that
The eternal human vessel of the soul
Might achieve a proper shape.
(Translation by Josephine V. Brown, with editorial assistance from William G. Stryker)
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