Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)
Monument to The Burghers of Calais
1889
Plaster
H. 219.5 cm ; W. 266 cm ; D. 211.5 cm
S.153
The final version of the monument was completed in 1889 and unveiled in Calais in 1895.
Rodin had envisaged two possible designs for its installation: either on ground level so that the group would become “more familiar and [draw] the public into the aspect of misery and sacrifice,” (Rodin, 1893), or raised on a very high plinth, so that it would stand out against the sky.
The triumphal arch of the first maquette had been eliminated and the six independent figures, showing their individual feelings, were united on the same base. Confronting their destiny and death, alone, they neither touch nor look at each other. Barefoot, clad only in tunics, with a rope around their necks, the condemned men begin their slow, mournful walk.
Auguste Rodin
Monument des Bourgeois de Calais
© Musée Rodin - Photo : Adam Rzepka
Auguste Rodin
Monument des Bourgeois de Calais
© Musée Rodin - Photo : Christian Baraja
Auguste Rodin
Monument des Bourgeois de Calais
© Musée Rodin - Photo : Christian Baraja
Auguste Rodin
Monument des Bourgeois de Calais
© Musée Rodin - Photo : Christian Baraja
Auguste Rodin
Monument des Bourgeois de Calais
© Musée Rodin - Photo : Adam Rzepka
Related works
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Jean Limet (1855-1941)
Monument to the Burghers of Calais -
Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)
Eustache de Saint-Pierre, Nude Study -
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Eustache de Saint-Pierre, Type A Head -
Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)
Pierre and Jacques de Wissant, Right Hand -
Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)
Pierre de Wissant, Nude Study -
Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)
The Burghers of Calais, First Maquette



