Pierre de Wissant, Monumental

When Rodin had completed the Monument to the Burghers of Calais, he reworked the individual sculptures and used them as freestanding figures. Once disassociated from the collective tragedy, Pierre de Wissant still stands as a poignant depiction of despair. Lost in his own thoughts, with downcast gaze, his twisted pose suggests hesitation between stepping forward or moving back. The successive states of the figure testify to Rodin’s experimentation with the positions of the head and right hand; the greater or lesser flexion of the wrist changes the emotion conveyed. The elbow is held closer to the body in figure S.00626, and in the final version, the palm has rotated further towards the sky, as if calling the heavens to witness the injustice of his fate, though the face wears an expression of heroic resignation.

The Artwork in the museum

Sculpture Garden

We cannot guarantee the presence of all our artworks; some may be out on loan.