Pierre de Wissant from the Burghers of Calais
Maker and role
Artist: Auguste Rodin, French, 1840-1917
Year
late 1890s
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Object detail
Media/Materials
Bronze
Measurements
height, 17 3/4in (45.1cm)
Credit line
Museum purchase and Gift of the Tobin Foundation
Accession number
1963.1.2
Object type
Department
Location
Further information
Auguste Rodin’s expressive, emotional, and vulnerable rendering of Pierre de Wissant depicts a body wracked with grief. Pierre’s right leg turns uncomfortably inward, his toes curling as if in pain, and his hand raises to shield his face. Wissant was one of six leading citizens of Calais (a port town in northern France) who agreed to surrender their lives in exchange for King Edward III’s merciful treatment of the French city. Rodin captured genuine expressions of emotion in this work, commissioned for a monument to honor the lives almost sacrificed in order to end a year-long standoff during the Hundred Years War (1337-1453).
Documentation
Modern Art at the McNay: A Brief History and Pictorial Survey of the Collection; William J. Chiego; 2001; p. 40-41
Subject period
Docent information sheet
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