Conceived in 1886, cast in 1984.
Tête de Jean de Fiennes [Head of Jean de Fiennes]
Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)
Height
32.2 cm (not including base):
Inventory Number
Bronze
Materials
Marks & Inscriptions
RCG0016
Inscribed A. Rodin and with the foundry mark E. Godard Fondr, and dated © By Musée Rodin 1984. No. 7/8 of Edition of 12 numbered 1/8 to 8/8 and I/ IV to IV/IV by the Émile Godard foundry
Images
The present work is a study for the head of Jean de Fiennes, which was initially devised as part of Rodin’s sculptural group the Burghers of Calais. The monument was commissioned in 1885 by the councillors of Calais to celebrate the heroic gesture of its townsmen during the Hundred Years’ War against England. The King of England, Edward III, besieged and took control of Calais in 1347; he promised to spare its inhabitants if the city’s leaders agreed to sacrifice themselves in their place. Six of the town’s Burghers walked towards the English camp, facing death so that their fellow citizens could live.
This story, which is retold in Jean de Froissart’s fifteenth-century Chronicles, struck Rodin deeply. The artist focused on the project for over ten years, producing first a maquette which won him the approval of the commissioners, and then removing each individual figure in order to work on the definition of their anatomy and facial expression. The artist’s individualised depiction of the Burghers, the definition of each character’s facial expression and body language enamoured public and critics alike at the sculpture’s unveiling in 1895.
The present piece represents the finished, life-size head of the youngest of the Burghers, Jean de Fiennes. Out of the numerous studies produced by the artist in his lengthy creative process for the monument, Rodin specifically included this model to the finished sculptural group.
Jean de Fiennes’ body language in the monument is the most ambiguous. With its outstretched arms and open hands, his gesture could equally signal the character’s resignation to his pending sacrifice, or perhaps an attempt to question it as he walks out of the city walls accompanied by his comrades.
Openning Hours
10:00am – 6:00pm
Location
The Arkın Clock Tower - Arkın Group Headquarters
The present work is a study for the head of Jean de Fiennes, which was initially devised as part of Rodin’s sculptural group the Burghers of Calais. The monument was commissioned in 1885 by the councillors of Calais to celebrate the heroic gesture of its townsmen during the Hundred Years’ War against England. The King of England, Edward III, besieged and took control of Calais in 1347; he promised to spare its inhabitants if the city’s leaders agreed to sacrifice themselves in their place. Six of the town’s Burghers walked towards the English camp, facing death so that their fellow citizens could live.
This story, which is retold in Jean de Froissart’s fifteenth-century Chronicles, struck Rodin deeply. The artist focused on the project for over ten years, producing first a maquette which won him the approval of the commissioners, and then removing each individual figure in order to work on the definition of their anatomy and facial expression. The artist’s individualised depiction of the Burghers, the definition of each character’s facial expression and body language enamoured public and critics alike at the sculpture’s unveiling in 1895.
The present piece represents the finished, life-size head of the youngest of the Burghers, Jean de Fiennes. Out of the numerous studies produced by the artist in his lengthy creative process for the monument, Rodin specifically included this model to the finished sculptural group.
Jean de Fiennes’ body language in the monument is the most ambiguous. With its outstretched arms and open hands, his gesture could equally signal the character’s resignation to his pending sacrifice, or perhaps an attempt to question it as he walks out of the city walls accompanied by his comrades.
Images