GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Jean d'Aire is a study for one of the figures in Auguste Rodin's monumental Burghers of Calais. This sculptural group commemorates the heroic surrender by six of the leading citizens of Calais, whose city had been subjected to a yearlong siege by England's Edward III. Dressed in sackcloth, with ropes around their necks, their feet bare, the men presented the king with the key to the city. Impressed by their courage, Edward spared their lives and Calais. Rodin, however, chose to depict their anguish as the men anticipate execution. The monument's emotional power is invested directly in the gestures and postures of each figure rather than in conventional symbols of the patriot or hero.
Rodin discovered the facial expressions and bodily gestures which mirror each individual's inner world through painstaking trial and error. Indeed, although the commission was awarded in 1884, the monument was not unveiled until 1895, after years of experimentation with studies in plaster and terracotta after nude models, as well as additional detailed studies of faces and hands. The Dallas sculpture is an early bronze casting of the nude study for the burgher Jean d'Aire. Owing to the profound psychological and emotional authenticity of Rodin's plastic forms, even without the contextualizing elements of sackcloth and key, this single figure—his face and body rigid with stoic determination—is movingly eloquent. By determinedly eschewing conventional allegory, Rodin reinvents our basic notion of the sculptural image of the hero.
Excerpt from
Dorothy Kosinski, "Jean d'Aire from the Burghers of Calais", in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Suzanne Kotz (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 1997), 109.
NOTES
Created 1880-1925
Modeled c. 1885-1887, cast early 20th century
In Rodin's sculptures body and spirit constantly strive with each other. His figures are off balance, physically and emotionally. The human body is an uneasy envelope for a desperate soul within. The great nude figure of Jean D'Aire, one of the Burghers of Calais group, represents a man prepared to give his life for his native city. He is a sacrificial victim, like Procaccini's Christ, but without any idealized beauty. His peasant body is warped by stoic determination and woe. Jean D'Aire's glance is sideways and downward, at the doom awaiting him, rather than the triumphant forward gaze the Greek statue would have had. His limbs are large and heavy, weighing him down to the earth. Yet the figure radiates a
powerful courage in the midst of suffering.
DMA thematic label copy (1981.1), Ancient Mediterranean and European Art, nd, Education files.
Jean d’Aire is one of six figures from the monumental and heroic group commemorating the final, symbolic act of surrender of the leading citizens of Calais after that city finally succumbed to nearly a year of siege during the Hundred Years’ War. Rodin developed the facial expressions and bodily gestures through years of experimentation with studies in plaster and terracotta after nude models. The details of their drapery and interaction were resolved later. The Dallas sculpture is an early bronze casting of the nude study, but even standing alone without the context of costume and other figures this work is movingly eloquent, reinventing our notion of the heroic image.
Heather MacDonald
The Lillian and James H. Clark Associate Curator of European Art
October 2010
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Paris (France): TGN: 7008038
Depicted location: Calais (inhabited place/France): TGN: 7009002
Process/materials
Bronze
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- The Rodin Museum, Philadelphia~Learn more about the life and work of Auguste Rodin from the American Rodin Museum.
- Musée Rodin, Paris~Learn more about the life and work of Auguste Rodin from the French Musée Rodin.
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC~View a version of Rodin's Jean d'Aire from the Burghers of Calais where he is clothed.
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General Description
Jean d'Aire is a study for one of the figures in Auguste Rodin's monumental Burghers of Calais. This sculptural group commemorates the heroic surrender by six of the leading citizens of Calais, whose city had been subjected to a yearlong siege by England's Edward III. Dressed in sackcloth, with ropes around their necks, their feet bare, the men presented the king with the key to the city. Impressed by their courage, Edward spared their lives and Calais. Rodin, however, chose to depict their anguish as the men anticipate execution. The monument's emotional power is invested directly in the gestures and postures of each figure rather than in conventional symbols of the patriot or hero.
Rodin discovered the facial expressions and bodily gestures which mirror each individual's inner world through painstaking trial and error. Indeed, although the commission was awarded in 1884, the monument was not unveiled until 1895, after years of experimentation with studies in plaster and terracotta after nude models, as well as additional detailed studies of faces and hands. The Dallas sculpture is an early bronze casting of the nude study for the burgher Jean d'Aire. Owing to the profound psychological and emotional authenticity of Rodin's plastic forms, even without the contextualizing elements of sackcloth and key, this single figure—his face and body rigid with stoic determination—is movingly eloquent. By determinedly eschewing conventional allegory, Rodin reinvents our basic notion of the sculptural image of the hero.
Excerpt from
Dorothy Kosinski, "Jean d'Aire from the Burghers of Calais", in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Suzanne Kotz (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 1997), 109.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- The Rodin Museum, Philadelphia~Learn more about the life and work of Auguste Rodin from the American Rodin Museum.
- Musée Rodin, Paris~Learn more about the life and work of Auguste Rodin from the French Musée Rodin.
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC~View a version of Rodin's Jean d'Aire from the Burghers of Calais where he is clothed.
Notes
Created 1880-1925
Modeled c. 1885-1887, cast early 20th century
In Rodin's sculptures body and spirit constantly strive with each other. His figures are off balance, physically and emotionally. The human body is an uneasy envelope for a desperate soul within. The great nude figure of Jean D'Aire, one of the Burghers of Calais group, represents a man prepared to give his life for his native city. He is a sacrificial victim, like Procaccini's Christ, but without any idealized beauty. His peasant body is warped by stoic determination and woe. Jean D'Aire's glance is sideways and downward, at the doom awaiting him, rather than the triumphant forward gaze the Greek statue would have had. His limbs are large and heavy, weighing him down to the earth. Yet the figure radiates a
powerful courage in the midst of suffering.
DMA thematic label copy (1981.1), Ancient Mediterranean and European Art, nd, Education files.
Jean d’Aire is one of six figures from the monumental and heroic group commemorating the final, symbolic act of surrender of the leading citizens of Calais after that city finally succumbed to nearly a year of siege during the Hundred Years’ War. Rodin developed the facial expressions and bodily gestures through years of experimentation with studies in plaster and terracotta after nude models. The details of their drapery and interaction were resolved later. The Dallas sculpture is an early bronze casting of the nude study, but even standing alone without the context of costume and other figures this work is movingly eloquent, reinventing our notion of the heroic image.
Heather MacDonald
The Lillian and James H. Clark Associate Curator of European Art
October 2010
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Paris (France): TGN: 7008038
Depicted location: Calais (inhabited place/France): TGN: 7009002
Process/materials
Bronze
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1981.1
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object_notes_1_d-0084.xml.nores