Symbolism1889
The Burghers of Calais
Auguste Rodin
Curator's Eye
"Rodin innovates through individualized psychological treatment and the rejection of the traditional pedestal, placing these figures at eye level to foster immediate empathy from the viewer."
A revolutionary monument that shatters the codes of triumphant heroism to show human sacrifice in all its vulnerability. Six men march toward death, united by duty yet isolated in their personal anguish.
Analysis
Commissioned in 1884 by the city of Calais, this monument commemorates an episode of the Hundred Years' War reported by the chronicles of Jean Froissart. In 1347, after an eleven-month siege, King Edward III of England demanded the surrender of six prominent citizens, bareheaded and with ropes around their necks, to spare the city. Rodin chose not to represent the moment of salvation, but that of departure, capturing the moment of dramatic tension where heroism mingles with despair.
The work breaks radically with 19th-century statuary which favored glorious allegory. Here, the bodies are not magnified; they are marked by fatigue, fear, and resolution. Eustache de Saint-Pierre, the eldest, leads the group with resigned dignity, while his companions express various shades of torment. This psychological naturalism transforms a historical event into a universal meditation on responsibility and death.
Rodin uses a nervous modeling technique, allowing his fingerprints to appear in the clay to accentuate the vibration of light on the bronze. The hands and feet are intentionally disproportionate, anchoring the characters in a heavy, earthly reality. This insistence on matter emphasizes the weight of the sacrifice these men are about to make for their community.
The analysis of the myth surrounding the burghers reveals that Rodin wished to humanize history. Rather than demigods, he presents ordinary citizens faced with an extraordinary decision. By isolating each figure through their expression and movement, he emphasizes that sacrifice, though collective in its purpose, remains a deeply solitary and individual experience in its emotional reality.
One of the most unknown secrets lies in the initial controversy over the pedestal. Rodin wanted the statues to be placed directly at ground level, on the stones of the square in Calais, so that citizens could "rub shoulders" with their ancestors. The municipality, scandalized by this lack of decorum, initially imposed a high base, betraying the artist's primary intention to break the distance between art and the public.
Another secret concerns the anatomy of the figures. Rodin first modeled each burgher completely naked before covering them with their sackcloth tunics. Under the bronze of the clothing, the muscles and tendons are perfectly sculpted, giving the structure an internal truth and a power of movement that is felt even through the heavy folds of the burlap.
The figure of Jean d'Aire holds a monumental key, but few know that it is symbolically oversized. Rodin enlarged this object to make it a real physical weight, forcing the sculpture to bend under the load. This key is not only a symbol of the city handed over to the victor, but the material burden of surrender crushing the shoulders of the notable.
There is a secret related to Rodin's duplication process. To populate his monument, he reused fragments from previous studies. For example, the left hand of one of the burghers is a variation of a study made for "The Gates of Hell". This creative recycling was a common method for Rodin, allowing him to build a coherent formal language across his various monumental commissions.
Finally, did you know that there are twelve original bronze editions of this monument worldwide? French law limits the number of original casts for a work of art. Thus, copies can be found in London, Washington, or even Japan, making this Calaisian sacrifice a symbol of world peace, far from the nationalist rivalries that motivated the initial commission.
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What radical museographical intention did Rodin formulate for the installation of "The Burghers of Calais," thus directly opposing the conventions of 19th-century public statuary?
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