He accomplished this by not only positioning each figure in a different stance with the men's heads facing separate directions, but he lowered them down to street level so a viewer could easily walk around the sculpture and see each man and each facial expression and feel as if they were a part of the group, personally experiencing the tragic event.
Artist: Auguste Rodin
Date: 1884-1895 CE
Medium: Bronze
Movement: “Late-1800s Sculpture,” followed the Realism artists
Content
· 6 “burghers,” or middle class people (people of the burgh/village)
· Burghers promise their lives to the English king so that he’ll save their city from occupation during the Hundred Years’ War
· Central character is Eustache de Saint-Pierre
o Has large swollen hands and a noose around his neck
o He’s ready for his execution
o Symbolizes the severity of the occupation/war in Calais/Paris
Context
· The town council of Calais, France rejected it; they wanted a statue of a single, allegorical figure
· The English king (in 1347, Hundred Years’ War) made the burghers wear sackcloths and carry the key to the city of Calais
Form
· All 6 characters were sculpted individually, then arranged by Rodin as best as possible to create a unified effect
· Each figure represents a different emotion (fearful, resigned, forlorn)
· The figures are emaciated; weak
· Details of the figures are reduced by Rodin to emphasize the overall impression of the 6 figures’ depravity
· Figures meant to be seen at ground-level and close-up (to be relatable)
Function
· Parallels between occupied Paris in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and occupied Calais by the English in 1347!
