| The second maquette for The Burghers of Calais, 1885. Cast in 1972. |  | The Burghers sacrificed themselves to Edward III in 1347 to save Calais from extermination at the hands of the English during the 100 Years War. |
 | In the indecision of that last inner combat which ensues between their cause and their fear of dying, each of them is isolated in front of his conscience. |  |
| They are still questioning themselves to know if they have the strength to accomplish the supreme sacrifice. Auguste Rodin |  | Dressed in sackcloth and wearing a noose around their neck, they trudged to the English camp and presented themselves to the King. At the intercession of Edward's Queen, the six hostages were spared |
9 comments:
In January, I visited the gallery for the Monet exhibition, but it was so busy that I left without getting inside! It is very encouraging to see how popular art exhibitions have become as a family outing.
Ah, Rodin...what a great time we had at the Rodin Musee in Paris!
Those columns are magnificent! What a gorgeous building.
You are getting very, very good at night photography. That's great results for no flash in the gallery as well.
This is an excellent post, Julie. Your photographs of the statues are so moving, as is your text. Something in your cropping choices and your grouping makes me totally feel their anguish.
As for Turkey, definitely keep it at the top of your travel list for 2010. Wish we could meet there and travel a bit together.
When I was a small child, about 4 years old, I lived in a house in France that had a Rodin in the garden. We weren't there for very long and I don't recall it but my mother spent years in rapture over it. I would love to see a collection of his work. The enlargements are fabulous.
I'm glad PJ suggested the enlargements ... it's great to be able to see the detail. AG-NSW one of my favourite places to waste a few hours but I don't get there as often as I like. Fortunateley we are country members of the gallery so we can get into the exhibitions free when we happen to make it down town.
Terrific post. Norton Simon museum in Pasadena also has the Burghers sculpture. I remember seeing it for the 1st time when I was 23 and my friend telling me the story behind the sculpture.
Thank you for this, Tash. I was bowled over by the passion that Rodin was able to achieve in his sculpture.
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