Black Country – Borinage
1878
oil
From the collection of Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
1878
oil
From the collection of Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
This painting shows a bleak industrial landscape. A factory building stands on the left, with a tall chimney emitting dark smoke. In the foreground, a wooden platform with a chain and coal carts stretches across the bottom of the image. The background is filled with more factories and smoke, set against a grey sky. The scene is rendered in muted colors, with shades of brown and grey dominating the palette. The overall mood is one of industrial bleakness, with the factories and smoke creating a sense of pollution and desolation. To learn more about the artist's use of chiaroscuro, explore the works of Constantin Meunier.
