Constantin Meunier
1969
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
etching in black on wove paper
Dimensions
plate: 9.21 × 14.92 cm (3 5/8 × 5 7/8 in.) sheet: 27.31 × 35.56 cm (10 3/4 × 14 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Jay Finkel
Accession Number
2013.121.90
Art Historical Context
**Constantin Meunier** (1969) is a striking etching by Leonard Baskin, an acclaimed American printmaker, sculptor, and illustrator renowned for his bold, humanistic figurative art. Baskin, who championed the revival of monumental printmaking in the mid-20th century, this intimate portrait honoring Constantin Meunier, the 19th-century Belgian artist celebrated for his realistic depictions of laborers and social themes. Produced in 1969, the work reflects Baskin's deep admiration for predecessors who captured the dignity and struggles of working people, bridging historical realism with post-war ...
About the Artist
Leonard Baskin
Leonard Baskin (1922–2000) was a towering figure in American art, renowned for his monumental sculptures, powerful woodcuts, and intricate book illustrations that grappled with the human condition's darker facets. Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, to a family of rabbis, he moved to Brooklyn's Jewish Orthodox Williamsburg neighborhood at age seven. Vowing to become a sculptor at 15, Baskin apprent...