The Burghers of Calais
Pierre de Wissant is one of the figures from the sculpture group The Burghers of Calais by Auguste Rodin. The bronze statue is remarkably realistic in its execution. It emphasizes the drama of the moment. Everything about the sculpture conveys the man’s inner struggle: the tormented pose, the expressive gesture of despair, the leaden arms and hands, and the powerfully moulded surface, with its striking effects of light and shade.
Rodin’s power
The statue of Pierre de Wissant is a brilliant illustration of Rodin’s power. He began with a nude model and made numerous preliminary studies of arms, hands and the head. He then draped the nude figure with the shirt worn by those condemned to execution. Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam has a life-sized, bronze preliminary study of the nude Pierre de Wissant.
A Burgher of Calais in Antwerp
The city of Calais commissioned The Burghers of Calais to commemorate the Hundred Years’ War. The bronze monument represents six prominent citizens handing over the keys of the French city to King Edward III of England. They are barefoot, dressed in sackcloth and have nooses around their necks. Rodin created 12 groups of the statues in his studio. They can now be found in collections all over the world. This statue of Pierre de Wissant is unusual in that Rodin created it especially for the KMSKA. It never formed part of a group.
