The River Sambre at Charleroi (La Sambre à Charleroi)

<span>1964, possibly purchased in Paris by Hirschl &amp; Adler (not yet confirmed); 1982; sold by Hirschl and Alder Galleries (New York, NY) to the Elvehjem Museum of Art [now called Chazen Museum of Art]</span>

• Elvehjem Museum of Art. "Handbook of the Collection." Elvehjem Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Madison, 1990. no. 103
• Elvehjem Museum of Art. "Bulletin 1981-1983." Madison: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 1983. p. 67
• Weidinger, Corina. "Picturing Industrial Landscapes: Ecocriticism in Constantin Meunier's and Maximilien Luce's Paintings of Belgium's Black Country," in "Ecocriticism and the Anthropocene in Nineteenth-Century Art and Visual Culture," edited by Maura Coughlin and Emily Gephart. New York: Routledge, 2021: 101-114. p.1, pl. 3

• Director's Legacy, A: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 10/7/1983–11/20/1983

This oil painting depicts an industrial landscape along a riverside port. The scene is dominated by a large, dark slag heap or coal pile located across the river, in the center of the canvas. To the left, two boats are moored to a pier holding large stacks of bundled wood or poles. In the background, the silhouette of a cityscape and smokestacks are visible behind the coal pile, with plumes of smoke swirling upward and blending into the muted blues, purples, whites, and yellows of the sky. A group of tall, half-bare trees dotted with deep red and purple leaves, stands on the far right bank across from the industrial area. In the foreground, two figures walk side-by-side along a winding path on the riverbank, which is lined with bright green grass. Aside from this vivid green grass and colorful foliage, the painting’s overall color palette is muted, focusing on deep blues, grays, and browns. The artist used short, distinct brushstrokes throughout the painting, making the scene appear both fragmented and blurred as light and color are diffused across the canvas.

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