Konstantin Meunier – an artist who glorified the proletariat

The life of the Belgian master Constantin Meunier is not eventful. But his creative biography is unusual. He began as a sculptor, visiting the class of the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels and the workshop of Sh. O. Freken, a follower of classicism. Then for many years engaged in painting. Only at the age of 50 he returned to sculpture – a unique case in the history of Western European art of that era.

At the same time, Meunier continued to work as a painter, creating major works in 1890–1900s. The master found in painting compositional solutions, which he later transferred to sculpture. Continue reading →