Le Marteleur was contemporaneous with theBelgian strike of 1886, considered by historians to be the first time the Belgianworking class achieved significant concessions from the national government. Inspired by the "plastic grandeur of the industrial worker," Meunier's work reflected the political and economic developments of his day in his depiction of the hammerer: while the realism of the statue indicated the difficulty of the worker's labor, thecontrapposto posture of its subject, borrowed from Classical and Renaissance sculpture, idealized and elevated him.[1] The plaster cast of the statue was exhibited at theParisian Salon 1886, where it earned an honorable mention.[1][2] The Columbia cast ofLe Marteleur was gifted to the university in 1914 by theColumbia University School of Mines Class of 1889.[3] It was originally located in front ofLewisohn Hall, but now stands in front of the Mudd Building, where theFu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences is located.
