119. The Burghers of Calais. Auguste Rodin. 1884-1895 CE Bronze.

• Function and Reception
  • Commissioned by the town of Calais in 1885 to commemorate size burghers who offered their lives to the English king in return for saving their besieged city during the Hundred Years’ War in 1347
  • Town council of Calais said it was Inglourious; they wanted a single allegorical figure.
  • In 1895, more than 10 years after Rodin presented the first maquette, it was installed at the entrance of the Jardin du Front Sid, on a pedestal designed by the city architect Decroix, with an octagonal iron gate around it.
  • Rodin resented this installation and wanted the work mounted on a very lw, “but impressive,” base on the Place d’Armes in the center of Calis.
  • Meant to be placed on the ground so that people could see it close up
• Context
  • Rodin’s direct literacy source is Jean Froissart who described how King Edward of England demanded the six citizens to appear before bareheaded, only dressed with a sackcloth, with a rope around their necks and the keys to the town in their hands. He wanted them to sacrifice their lives for their town.
  • The English king was impressed by the self-sacrifice and allowed the citizens to live
  • Parallels between Paris besieged during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and Calais besieged by the English in 1347
• Form
  • Figures sculpted individually and then arranged as the artist thought best
  • Rodin concentrates on the figures’ misery, doubt, and internal conflict
  • Each has a different emotion: some fearful, or resigned, or forlorn
  • Figures suffer from privation; they are weak and emaciated
  • The men are placed on an equal level, symbolizing their uniform sacrifice
  • The central figure is Eustache de Saint-Pierre, who has large swollen hands and a noose around his neck, ready for his execution.
  • Details are reduced to emphasize an overall impression.