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The Burghers of Calais

Sculptural Works

The Burghers of Calais is a bronze sculptural group by Auguste Rodin, commissioned by the city of Calais in 1884 and completed in 1889. It commemorates an episode of the Hundred Years' War in which six leading citizens of Calais offered themselves to the besieging English king in 1346 to spare the rest of the town's population after an eleven-month siege. Rather than the heroic, triumphant style usual in public monuments, Rodin depicted the six men individually, marked by pain, anguish and resignation as they walk toward what they believe is execution, a treatment now seen as a landmark departure in the history of public sculpture.

Facts
Year Created
1889 1
Commissioned 1884, completed 1889 per Wikipedia.
Medium
Cast sculpture, existing in 12 original castings and numerous copies 1
Commissioned By
City of Calais 1
Classification
Genre
Sculpture 1
Medium
Medium (category)
Bronze 1
Connections

Created By

Auguste Rodin, Artists

In Form

Sculpture, Art Forms
Source The Burghers of Calais (Wikipedia)

In Genre

Sculpture, Art Forms
In the Other Atlases

Located In

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is located.

Sources
1. The Burghers of Calais (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Wikipedia, The Burghers of Calais, last sentence
    The city commissioned Rodin to create the sculpture in 1884 and the work was completed in 1889.
  • Wikipedia, The Burghers of Calais, opening sentence
    The Burghers of Calais (French: Les Bourgeois de Calais) is a sculpture by Auguste Rodin in 12 original castings and numerous copies.
  • Article text
    It commemorates an event during the Hundred Years' War, when Calais, a French port on the English Channel, surrendered to the English after an 11-month siege. The city commissioned Rodin to create the sculpture in 1884 and the work was completed in 1889.
  • Infobox: type
    Bronze
  • In Form: Sculpture, lead paragraph
    The Burghers of Calais (French: Les Bourgeois de Calais) is a sculpture by Auguste Rodin in 12 original castings and numerous copies. It commemorates an event during the Hundred Years' War, when Calais, a French port on the Englis
  • In Group: Monuments, Memorials and Public Art, Lead
    It commemorates an event during the Hundred Years' War, when Calais, a French port on the English Channel, surrendered to the English after an 11-month siege.
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