Constantin Meunier, Sculptor 1899

Alexandre Charpentier made this bronze portrait plaque of Constantin Meunier, the sculptor, sometime in the late 19th century. Charpentier was a master of bronze, and here he coaxes the material into a rough, painterly surface. You can almost feel his hand in the clay original, rapidly building up the form. Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, capable of capturing incredible detail when molten, but it can also be worked to emphasize texture. This is definitely the case here. Meunier’s beard and hair, the crinkles around his eyes, are all evoked with great liveliness. The choice of bronze is also significant. Its industrial associations would have resonated with Meunier, who was celebrated for his depictions of working-class people. It is a conscious choice to move away from the preciousness of marble, aligning the work with the realities of labor and the modern world. Thinking about materials and processes reveals the social context of the work, challenging any easy separation between fine art and the everyday.