Constantin Meunier (1831 - 1905)

Constantin Meunier

Constantin Meunier was a 19th-century Belgian painter and sculptor. He is known as a master of social realism. Meunier's oeuvre can be considered a vivid reflection of the political and social developments of the industrial age. The heroes of his paintings and sculptures were usually simple toilers. The artist's biography is closely linked to his native Brussels.

In the beginning of his career, Constantin Meunier specialized in painting religious and historical genres, but he did not achieve much success. On the other hand, his paintings and sculptures, executed in a spirit of realism, brought him fame.

The turning point in Meunier's work was his trip to his ancestral homeland, the mining district of Borinage. Shocked by the harsh conditions in which miners had to work, the artist decided to devote himself to realistic art. And the heroes of his paintings were miners, metallurgists and dockers, and the palette of colors acquired a characteristic gloomy-dark accent. For the same reason Meunier turned to sculpture - in bronze he saw greater opportunities to embody the heroic images of workers.