At the Trough, 1890

About the Work

A memorial to an ordinary worker leading his exhausted horse to drink - only in the late nineteenth century did such a thing become possible. After the gods of antiquity had abdicated, sculptors sought out new heroic figures. Having begun as a painter of religious subjects, Meunier became famous above all for his sculptural representations of workers. He argued in favour of an art which addressed the broad masses, the people. This group of horse and rider, which the Städel owns in a smaller bronze version, was created as a fountain monument for the Square Ambiorix in Brussels.