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Eustache de Saint-Pierre, Monumental (Eustache de Saint-Pierre, monumental)

European Art

On View: Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion, 1st Floor
Eustache de Saint-Pierre was the oldest of the six burghers and the first to volunteer to be sacrificed to save his native city. The Calais city council originally suggested this figure as the focus of Rodin’s monument, but the artist chose to give all six burghers equal stature.

The historical narrative states that when they surrendered themselves, the burghers wore shirts and breeches, but Rodin decided to clad his figures in less historically specific drapery. Their timeless appearance contributes to the monument’s function as a broader symbol of selfless, patriotic heroism.
MEDIUM Bronze
  • Place Made: France
  • DATES ca. 1886–1887
    DIMENSIONS 85 × 30 × 48 in., 1173 lb. (215.9 × 76.2 × 121.9 cm)  (show scale)
    MARKINGS "© Musée Rodin 1983" "F*C"
    SIGNATURE Base: "A. Rodin"
    COLLECTIONS European Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 87.106.2
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Iris and B. Gerald Cantor
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion, 1st Floor
    CAPTION Auguste Rodin (French, 1840–1917). Eustache de Saint-Pierre, Monumental (Eustache de Saint-Pierre, monumental), ca. 1886–1887. Bronze, 85 × 30 × 48 in., 1173 lb. (215.9 × 76.2 × 121.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Iris and B. Gerald Cantor, 87.106.2. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.106.2_view1_SL1.jpg)
    EDITION Edition: 3/8
    IMAGE overall, 87.106.2_view1_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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