Constantin Meunier (12 April 1831 – 4 April 1905) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

painter and

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. He made an important contribution to the development of modern art by elevating the image of the industrial worker, docker and miner to an icon of modernity. His work is a reflection of the industrial, social and political developments of his day and represents a compassionate and committed view of man and the world.

Early life and education

Constantin Meunier was born in the traditionally working-class area of

Etterbeek Etterbeek (French: ; Dutch: ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the municipalities of Auderghem, the City of Brussels, Ixelles, Schaerbeek, Wolu ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. His family was poor and suffered from the negative economic impact caused by the Belgian Revolution which had taken place the year before Meunier's birth. Meunier's father committed suicide when he was just four years old.Constantin Meunier, ''The return from harvest at dusk''
at Jean Moust Constantin Meunier - Mining region

He began studying sculpture at the age of 14 at the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute ...

in Brussels in September 1845.Ian Mundell, ''Retrospective reveals the Flemish inspirations of Constantin Meunier''
at Flanders Today He studied under the sculptor

Louis Jehotte Louis Jehotte (7 November 1803 or 1804 – 3 February 1884) was a prominent Belgian sculptor working in a realist tradition that was inflected, who was responsible for the bronze equestrian monument to Charlemagne erected on the in Liège, Belg ...

(1804–84) from 1848. He also attended from 1852 the private studio of the sculptor

Charles-Auguste Fraikin Charles Auguste Fraikin (14 June 1817 – 22 November 1893) was a Belgian neoclassical sculptor. Life Charles Auguste Fraikin was born in Herentals, Belgium, on 14 June 1817. He took drawing lessons from the age of twelve at the Royal Academy o ...

. While he encountered modestly success as a sculptor, his encounter with

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and ...

social realist Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...

painting ''

The Stone Breakers ''The Stone Breakers'' (french: Les Casseurs de pierres) was an 1849 painting by the French painter Gustave Courbet. It was a work of realism, depicting two peasants, a young man and an old man, breaking rocks. ''The Stone Breakers'' was first ex ...

'' in 1851 caused him to doubt the ability of sculpture to adequate represent the contemporary social and artistic issues that were of concern to him. He therefore gave up sculpture in favour of painting which he practised almost exclusively for the next thirty years.

Career

Meunier's first exhibit was a plaster sketch, ''The Garland'', shown at the Brussels Salon in 1851. His first important painting, ''The Salle St Roch'' (1857), was followed by a series of paintings including ''A Trappist Funeral'' (1860), ''Trappists Ploughing'' (1863), in collaboration with

Alfred Verwee Alfred Jacques Verwee (23 April 1838, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode – 15 September 1895, Schaerbeek) was a Belgian painter known for his depictions of animals, landscapes and seascapes. Life His father was the painter Louis-Pierre Verwee and his br ...

, ''Divine Service at the Monastery of La Trappe'' (1871) and episodes of the German Peasants' War (1878), as well as of Belgium's own historical

Peasants' War This is a chronological list of conflicts in which peasants played a significant role. Background The history of peasant wars spans over two thousand years. A variety of factors fueled the emergence of the peasant revolt phenomenon, including: ...

. About 1880 Meunier was commissioned to illustrate those parts of Camille Lemonnier's description of Belgium in ''Le Tour du monde'' which referred to miners and factory-workers, and produced ''In the Factory'', ''Smithery at Cockerill's'', ''Melting Steel at the Factory at Seraing'' (1882), ''Returning from the Pit'', and ''The Broken Crucible'' (1884). Constantin Meunier - Three female miners

Constantin Meunier - Three female miners

In 1882 he was employed by the government to copy Pedro de Campaña's ''Descent from the Cross'' at

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, and in Spain he painted such characteristic pictures as ''The Café Concert'', ''Procession on Good Friday'', and ''The Tobacco Factory at Seville'' (Brussels Gallery). On his return to Belgium he was appointed professor at the Louvain Academy of Fine Arts. In 1885 he returned to sculpture and produced ''The Puddler'', '' The Hammerman'' (1886), ''Firedamp'' (1889, Brussels Gallery), ''Le Débardeur'' (modeled 1885; many castings made 1889–1905), '' Ecce Homo'' (1891), ''The Old Mine-Horse'' (1891), ''The Mower'' (1892), ''The Glebe'' (1892), the monument to

Father Damien Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai, SS.CC. or Saint Damien De Veuster ( nl, Pater Damiaan or '; 3 January 1840 – 15 April 1889), born Jozef De Veuster, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sac ...

at Louvain (1893), ''Puddler at the Furnace'' (1893), the scheme of decoration for the

Botanical Garden of Brussels The Botanical Garden of Brussels (french: Jardin botanique de Bruxelles, nl, Kruidtuin van Brussel) is a former botanical garden in Brussels, Belgium. It was created in 1826 and stood on the Rue Royale/Koningsstraat in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, ...

in collaboration with the sculptor Charles van der Stappen (1893), ''The Horse at the Pond'', in the square in the north-east quarter of Brussels, and two unfinished works, the ''Monument to Labour'' and the

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

monument, in collaboration with the French sculptor

Alexandre Charpentier Alexandre-Louis-Marie Charpentier (1856–1909) was a French sculptor, medalist, craftsman, and cabinet-maker. Life and work From working-class origins and apprenticed to an engraver as a young man, he became a studio assistant to the innov ...

. The ''Monument to Labour'', which was acquired by the State for the Brussels Gallery, comprises four stone bas-reliefs: ''Industry'', ''The Mine'', ''Harvest'', and the ''Harbour''; four bronze statues: ''The Sower'', ''The Smith'', ''The Miner'', and the ''Ancestor''; and a bronze group, ''Maternity''. He was one of the co-founders of the

Société Libre des Beaux-Arts The Société Libre des Beaux-Arts ("Free Society of Fine Arts") was an organization formed in 1868 by Belgian artists to react against academicism and to advance Realist painting and artistic freedom. Based in Brussels, the society was active un ...

of Brussels and was a member of the

International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers was a union of professional artists that existed from 1898 to 1925, "To promote the study, practice, and knowledge of sculpture, painting, etching, lithographing, engraving, and kindred ...

. Meunier was a freemason and a member of the lodge '' Les Amis Philanthropes'' of the

Grand Orient of Belgium Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and c ...

in Brussels. Meunier died in

Ixelles (French, ) or ( Dutch, ), is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Brussels' city centre, it is geographically bisected by the City of Brussels. It is also bordered by the munic ...

on 4 April 1905.

Works by Constantin Meunier

File:Constantin Meunier - Path descending from the slag heap.jpg, ''Path descending from the slag heap'' File:Potato Diggers.jpg, ''Potato diggers'' File:Tobacco Factory, Sevilla – No.2.jpg, ''Tobacco Factory, Sevilla'' File:Café del Buzero, Sevilla.jpg, ''Café del Buzero, Sevilla'' File:Constantin Meunier - Unloading of a sailboat.jpg, ''Unloading of a sailboat'' File:Constantin Meunier - Return from the mine.jpg, ''The Return of the Miners'' File:Constantin Meunier - Female miner descending into the pit.jpg, ''Female miner descending into the pit'' File:Constantin Meunier - The organ grinder.jpg, ''The organ grinder'' File:Sædemand.JPG, ''The sower'' File:MFA Meunier Le Débardeur.jpg, ''The Dock Worker'' File:Bruxelles square Ambiorix 901.jpg, ''The Horse at the Pond'' 1899 File:Man Battling with the Elements, bronze sculpture by Constantin Meunier, 1890-1899, Honolulu Museum of Art.JPG, ''Man Battling with the Elements'' File:Belgique - Bruxelles - Botanique - L'Automne ou Le Semeur de Constantin Meunier - 01.jpg, ''Autumn'' (

) File:Le Marteleur Meunier.jpg, '' The Hammerman''

Museum collections

In 1939, the Musée Constantin-Meunier dedicated to his work was opened in the last house in which Meunier lived and worked, in

. Today about 150 of his works are displayed there. M - Museum Leuven also holds a number of important works by Meunier,Meunier in Leuven
at M - Museum Leuven as does Brussels'

Fin-de-Siècle Museum The Fin-de-Siècle Museum (french: Musée Fin-de-Siècle, nl, Fin-de-Siècle Museum, "Museum of the Turn of the Century") is a museum in Brussels, Belgium. It is dedicated to the full spectrum of the arts of the period between 1884, when the ...

References

Sources

* * P. & V. Berko, "Dictionary of Belgian painters born between 1750 & 1875", Knokke 1981, pp. 466–467.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meunier, Constantin 1831 births 1905 deaths Belgian sculptors Burials at Ixelles Cemetery People from Etterbeek 19th-century Belgian painters 19th-century Belgian male artists Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts alumni