Modern · Cleveland Museum of Art · 1920.120
Heroic Head of Pierre de Wissant, One of the Burghers of Calais
Auguste Rodin, 1886
Cleveland Museum of Art · The Norweb Collection · Public domain
- Artist
- Auguste Rodin
- Date
- 1886
- Medium
- bronze
- Dimensions
- Overall: 83.5 x 47 x 55.3 cm (32 7/8 x 18 1/2 x 21 3/4 in.)
- Era
- Modern
Why it matters
This sculpture depicts one of the figures in Rodin’s large public monument The Burghers of Calais (1884–89), featuring six French men who volunteered to be taken prisoner by the English in exchange for lifting the siege of Calais during the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453). Pierre de Wissant’s anguished expression suggests extreme mental suffering as he contemplates his expected execution. Rodin exhibited a life-size version of the figure as an independent work before completing the monument. He later made multiple versions in various sizes and media.