Meunier, Constantin

Meunier, Constantin (kôNstäNtăN` mönyā`), 1831–1905, Belgian sculptor and painter. In paintings of monastic life and of factory workers and miners, his work expressed the dignity of labor, in a style marked by romantic idealism. Turning to sculpture exclusively at the age of 50, he produced the bronze reliefs and monuments for which he is known. His masterpiece, the unfinished Monument to Labor (Brussels), comprises four stone reliefs, Industry, The Mine, Harvest, and Harbor; four bronze statues, The Sower, The Smith, The Miner, and The Ancestor; and a bronze group, Maternity. Many of his works are housed in the Constantin Meunier Museum in Brussels.