Belgium Meunier, Constantin View of the Borinage. Circa 1882. Oil on canvas. 47.6 x 62.8 cm. Signed. Framed. Label of Galerie Louis Manteau, Brussels and handwritten annotation verso on stretcher. - Fine craquelure in places due to age. A small, watery-brownish stain in the left centre of the image. No retouching recognisable under UV. Very good overall. Impressive painting in dark, atmospheric tonality. Provenance: - Galerie Louis Manteau, Brussels - Grisebach 1996, auction 51, lot 317 - Private collection, Berlin. - With our painting, Meunier has succeeded in creating a great homage to the Borinage. The area around the city of Mons in Belgium was one of the most important coalfields in Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. The landscape around the plant became a symbol of industrialisation and was also decisive in the social history of the labour movement and the class struggle in Belgium. Meunier placed the industrial landscape at the centre of the picture. The fires glow in the darkness, smoke rises, the borinage is in operation, but Meunier completely dispenses with the workers in his depiction. The borinage appears monumental, brute, gloomy from the smoke and soot of the coal, as a hostile place. Meunier is a master of realism and naturalism, relying on the powerful visual impact of the site in and of itself. The artist's fascination with this unreal and yet so materialistic place is evident in his choice of the Borinage as his main motif: Meunier has explored the Borinage industrial landscape several times since his arrival in Mons in 1880 in his oeuvre of sculptures, drawings and paintings. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. On the verso of the stretcher with label of Galerie Louis Manteau, Brussels and handwritten annotation. - Fine craquelureisolated due to age. A small, watery-brownish stain in centre left. No visible retouching under UV light. Overall very good. Powerful painting in dark, atmospheric tonality. - Provenance: - Galerie Louis Manteau, Brussels - Grisebach 1996, auction 51, lot 317 - Private collection, Berlin. - With this painting, Meunier has created a great homage to the Borinage. The area around the city of Mons in Belgium was one of the most important coalfields in Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. The landscape around the plant became a symbol of industrialisation and was also decisive in the social history of the labour movement and the class struggle in Belgium. Meunier placed the industrial landscape at the centre of the picture. The fires glow in the darkness, smoke rises, the borinage is in operation but Meunier completely dispenses with the workers in his depiction. The borinage appears monumental, brute, gloomy from the smoke and soot of the coal, as a hostile place. Meunier is a master of realism and naturalism, relying on the powerful visual impact of the site in and of itself. The artist's fascination with this unreal and yet so materialistic place is also evident in his choice of the Borinage as his main motif: Meunier has explored the Borinage industrial landscape several times since his arrival in Mons in 1880 in his oeuvre of sculptures, drawings and paintings. 1800