1875 - Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium

#art #painting #museum #arthistory

[artsy_story]

The artist denied any political intent : "I tried to be as sincere as possible, while avoiding being both too sentimental and too realistic. The workers of the foreground, refreshed, peacefully go to work in the morning, while the dissolute, dressed in black, stagger noisily out of the golden pleasure-shacks where they spent the night. On one carnival day, I went out before sunrise to watch the parade of my actors. I have reproduced the scene completely as it made an impression on my imagination, contenting myself to stay as simple as possible. It was claimed that my painting had a socialist reach. That is a mistake. I never thought of ennobling the worker by showing the decline of debauched. And that's why I gave up my original idea of making one of the great vixens coming out of the study the sister of the worker walking beside her husband. The execution of this idea would have required a physiognomy that seemed slightly sentimental and overly romantic."

[SpiritofUniverse]

Is there now any differences? I don’t see.