# Puddlers [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [MEUNIER, Constantin]() - Date: 1851-1900 - Technique: Bronze, 50 x 49 cm ## Commentary Meunier found his main subject in about 1880: man at work. from 1885, he also turned to this particular subject in his sculpting. The title of this relief is a reference to the puddling and Krupp burning process used in iron-making. Only a small area of the blast furnace, the actual place of work, is shown on the right-hand edge of this relief. The middle one of the three labourers is one of the most impressive to be seen in any of Meunier's works. His right foot is pressed against the furnace, his torso is stretching backwards. Every muscle, every sinew is tensed as he works the iron with all his strength. Meunier's labourers are types rather than individual people and are idealised. The artist heroized labour in his approach to the working world in what was the age of industrialization. ## Related artworks - [The Dock Hand \(Le Débardeur\)]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()