The Burghers of Calais in Calais, France

In 1347, after a year-long siege, six citizens of Calais agreed to sacrifice their lives and hand over the keys of their city to its conqueror, King Edward III of England. The story was related in Jean Froissart's Chronicles (1370-1400). In September 1884, the Mayor of Calais,Omer Dewavrin, suggested erecting a monument as a tribute to the heroism of Eustache de Saint Pierre and his companions, with the aid of a national appeal fund.Alphonse Prosper Isaac, a Calais-born painter who had settled in Paris, was asked to advise the monument committee on the sculptor to be chosen. He put forward Rodin's name. As soon as he started reading Froissart's account of the historic episode, Rodin began working on the project, even before the commission was confirmed. He decided not represent just one burgher of Calais but all six in a "slow procession towards death": Eustache de Saint Pierre, Jean d'Aire, Pierre and Jacques de Wissant,Andrieu d'Andres and Jean de Fiennes. The notion of collective sacrifice was emphasized even in the first maquette.The six figures, not yet individualized, were presented on the same plane, one next to the other, with no visible order of importance and all clad in the loose garments of men about to be executed. They were placed on a very high rectangular base, adorned with bas-reliefs, which formed a triumphal pedestal. This first maquette was greeted enthusiastically by the committee. Rodin was officially awarded the commission for the monument and the price was set at 15,000 francs. He then pursued his investigations into the identity of each figure and made them express the different feelings experienced by men on the verge of death: despair, resignation, courage, impassiveness or uncertainty.He modelled them directly in their actual size, first unclothed, then clothed in the type of tunics worn by the condemned men. He arranged real shirts dipped in plaster on the nude studies, so that the bodily build could be seen under the garments. In tandem with his figures, he worked on the heads and hands separately. These became sculptures in their own right. The monument was completed in 1889, the year in which it was first presented at the Monet- Rodin exhibition in the Galerie Georges Petit, Paris. This object is part of Scan The World. Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email [e-mail] to find out how you can help.1347年，历经一年围城之后，加莱六位市民同意献出生命，将城市钥匙交予征服者——英格兰国王爱德华三世。这一故事记载于让·傅华萨（Jean Froissart）的《编年史》（1370-1400）之中。 1884年9月，加莱市长奥默·德瓦兰（Omer Dewavrin）提议修建纪念碑，以致敬厄斯塔什·德·圣皮埃尔及其同伴的英勇事迹，并通过全国募捐筹集资金。出生于加莱、定居巴黎的画家阿方斯·普罗斯佩·伊萨克（Alphonse Prosper Isaac）受邀为纪念碑委员会举荐雕塑人选，他推荐了罗丹（Rodin）。罗丹在阅览傅华萨对这一历史事件的记述后，便即刻着手创作，甚至在正式委托文书确认前就已启动项目。他决定不只塑造单一位加莱市民，而是以“缓步走向死亡的队列”呈现全部六位人物：厄斯塔什·德·圣皮埃尔、让·代尔、皮埃尔与雅克·德·维桑、昂德里厄·德·昂德尔以及让·德·菲耶讷。 集体牺牲的理念在首个创作小样中便已得到凸显。六位尚未完成个性化塑造的人物被置于同一平面，并肩排列，无明显主次之分，皆身着即将受刑者的宽松衣袍。他们被安置在极高的矩形基座之上，基座饰有浅浮雕，构成一座凯旋式台座。该创作小样获得了委员会的热烈认可，罗丹正式获得该纪念碑的创作委托，酬金定为15000法郎。 此后，罗丹进一步研究每位人物的身份特征，赋予他们各自濒死之际的不同情绪：绝望、认命、果敢、淡然与彷徨。他以真人比例直接进行泥塑创作，先塑造赤裸身形，再为其披上受刑者所穿的束腰外衣。他将浸过石膏的真实衬衫覆于裸体泥塑之上，以便在衣袍之下仍能清晰展现躯体轮廓。 与此同时，他还单独雕琢人物的头部与手部，这些部件本身也成为了独立的雕塑作品。该纪念碑于1889年完工，同年首次在巴黎乔治·佩蒂画廊（Galerie Georges Petit）举办的莫奈-罗丹联展中展出。 本作品属于“扫描世界（Scan The World）”项目。该项目是MyMiniFactory发起的非营利性倡议，旨在打造全球可3D打印的雕塑、艺术品与地标数字档案，供公众免费获取。“扫描世界”是一项开源的社区共建项目，若您身边有值得分享的藏品并希望参与贡献，可发送邮件至[e-mail]了解参与方式。