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De zaaier

1896

Constantin Meunier

However perfect this depiction of a farmer may seem, the harsh reality of 19th-century peasant life was not so rosy. The realist artists were the first to portray “life as it is,” giving attention and dignity to workers and peasants. With his idealizing style, Constantin Meunier even endowed peasants, and later workers, with quasi-divine status.

© Photo: Tom Cornille

Details

  • Plan number: M28
  • Zone: Human Nature
  • Title: De zaaier (The Sower)
  • Creator: Constantin Meunier
  • Date: 1896
  • Material: bronze
  • Acquisition: loan by Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen
  • Object number: MID.LB.KM.1982

This sculpture glorifies human labor. The diligent worker looks at the horizon and scatters seed over the land. At first glance, it is an almost idyllic image, but is transforming the landscape always romantic and positive? And what kind of labor deserves to be seen?

Belgian artist Constantin Meunier was a draftsman, painter, and sculptor. His stay at the Trappist monastery in Westmalle inspired him to develop religious themes and a hushed formal language. From 1875, he immersed himself in working-class and factory environments, from the port of Antwerp to the coal mines in the Borinage region. Working-class and peasant life then became his main subject.

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