The sculpture Sorrow aptly illustrates the social conscience of Constantin Meunier (1831-1905). During his lifetime, Meunier enjoyed international fame with his images of heroic workers. This image, however, goes a step further. Meunier did not just create a working-class woman, dejectedly bent over her son who died in a coal mine. He created a modern pietà, timeless, stripped of incriminating anecdote. The sculpture is probably Meunier's first design for the mother figure in the life-size group The Fire-Damp Exploision, and was first presented to the public at the Paris World Fair in 1889.
| Artist |
Constantin Meunier
RKD
VIAF
Wikidata
|
|---|---|
| Title | Sorrow |
| Date | ca. 1889 |
| Period | 19th century |
| Collection | sculpture AAT |
| Object type | gypsum AAT |
| Inventory number | 2005-B |
| Acquisition credit |
purchase
Dupuis (coll.) Brussels 2005 |
| Current whereabouts | Work on display |
| Permalink | https://mskgent.be/collection/work/data/2005-B |
| IIIF Manifest | https://imagehub.mskgent.be/iiif/3/5554/manifest.json |
| Art & Architecture Thesaurus |
300189808
figures (representations)
AAT
300055865 symbolism (artistic concept) AAT |
|---|---|
| Keywords Iconclass |
31A2525
hands on top of each other
Iconclass
31A72 female sex; woman Iconclass 31AA2321 leaning forward - AA - female human figure Iconclass 31B6212 looking downwards Iconclass 31D15 adult woman Iconclass 31E death of human being Iconclass 41D221(HEADSCARF) head-gear (HEADSCARF) Iconclass 42B12 mother-love Iconclass 42G2112 mother (first degree family relationships) Iconclass 48C24 piece of sculpture, reproduction of a piece of sculpture Iconclass 56BB1 Pain, Sorrow, Sadness; 'Dolore', 'Dolore di Zeusi' (Ripa) Iconclass 56DD11 Despair; 'Disperatione' (Ripa) Iconclass |
| School / Style |
realism (artistic form of expression)
AAT
social realism AAT |
|
Do you have any suggestions, questions or information about this work? Write us, collectie.msk@stad.gent |
