Monument to the Burghers of Calais (Monument des Bourgeois de Calais), 1889
Plaster
In 1346–7, the French port of Calais was besieged by King Edward III of England. He agreed to spare the townspeople if six of their leaders surrendered to him with ropes around their necks, ready to be executed. Eustache de Saint-Pierre and five fellow citizens volunteered for the task. They were ultimately spared.
In 1885, Rodin was asked to create a monument to Eustache de Saint-Pierre. Rather than follow the custom of celebrating a single heroic figure, he decided to depict the collective sacrifice of the group.
The burghers were first modelled unclothed. Fabric tunics were dipped in plaster and draped over the nude sculptures. This allowed the withered outline of the bodies to be seen clearly beneath the garments. Rodin exaggerated the size of their bare, bruised feet, emphasising the men’s vulnerability and hopelessness as they walked towards their death.
Initially Rodin planned to install the sculpture high up, to be viewed against the sky. He then changed his mind and took the burghers off their pedestal. By placing them on the same level as the viewer, showing their common humanity rather than elevating them out of reach, he revolutionised monumental sculpture.
[Tate Modern]
Taken in the exhibition
The Making of Rodin
(May – November 2021)
Working at the turn of the 20th century, Auguste Rodin broke the rules of classical sculpture to create an image of the human body that mirrored the ruptures, complexities and uncertainties of the modern age.
This major exhibition is the first to focus on the importance of plaster in his work. Although Rodin is best known for his bronze and marble sculptures, he himself worked as a modeller, who captured movement, light and volume in pliable materials such as clay and plaster.
This presentation evokes the atmosphere of the artist’s studio. Plasters casts in all sizes show how he continually experimented with fragmentation, repetition and joining existing parts in unconventional ways. Some of his best-known works were influenced by this process, including The Burghers of Calais, which is represented here by the newly restored original plaster.
With the process of making at its heart, the exhibition also considers the complex dynamics of the workshop, as well as between the artist and his models and collaborators, including fellow sculptor Camille Claudel, the Japanese actress Ohta Hisa, and the German aristocrat Helene Von Nostitz.
[Tate Modern]
Monument to the Burghers of Calais (Monument des Bourgeois de Calais), 1889
Plaster
In 1346–7, the French port of Calais was besieged by King Edward III of England. He agreed to spare the townspeople if six of their leaders surrendered to him with ropes around their necks, ready to be executed. Eustache de Saint-Pierre and five fellow citizens volunteered for the task. They were ultimately spared.
In 1885, Rodin was asked to create a monument to Eustache de Saint-Pierre. Rather than follow the custom of celebrating a single heroic figure, he decided to depict the collective sacrifice of the group.
The burghers were first modelled unclothed. Fabric tunics were dipped in plaster and draped over the nude sculptures. This allowed the withered outline of the bodies to be seen clearly beneath the garments. Rodin exaggerated the size of their bare, bruised feet, emphasising the men’s vulnerability and hopelessness as they walked towards their death.
Initially Rodin planned to install the sculpture high up, to be viewed against the sky. He then changed his mind and took the burghers off their pedestal. By placing them on the same level as the viewer, showing their common humanity rather than elevating them out of reach, he revolutionised monumental sculpture.
[Tate Modern]
Taken in the exhibition
The Making of Rodin
(May – November 2021)
Working at the turn of the 20th century, Auguste Rodin broke the rules of classical sculpture to create an image of the human body that mirrored the ruptures, complexities and uncertainties of the modern age.
This major exhibition is the first to focus on the importance of plaster in his work. Although Rodin is best known for his bronze and marble sculptures, he himself worked as a modeller, who captured movement, light and volume in pliable materials such as clay and plaster.
This presentation evokes the atmosphere of the artist’s studio. Plasters casts in all sizes show how he continually experimented with fragmentation, repetition and joining existing parts in unconventional ways. Some of his best-known works were influenced by this process, including The Burghers of Calais, which is represented here by the newly restored original plaster.
With the process of making at its heart, the exhibition also considers the complex dynamics of the workshop, as well as between the artist and his models and collaborators, including fellow sculptor Camille Claudel, the Japanese actress Ohta Hisa, and the German aristocrat Helene Von Nostitz.
[Tate Modern]