Pierre de Wissant
Artist: Auguste Rodin
Year Composed: 1887
Artistic Movement: Impressionism
Nationality: France
Floor Found in Château: First Garden
Year Composed: 1887
Artistic Movement: Impressionism
Nationality: France
Floor Found in Château: First Garden
About the Artwork
Pierre de Wissant is one of the six figures as part of Auguste Rodin's Burghers of Calais (1889). According to legend, the six Burghers of Calais were martyrs who surrendered themselves in order to save the French city of Calais during the Hundred Years' War. Rodin first sculpted them as nude figures, then covered the bodies with wet sheets of canvas. Taking those as models, Rodin sculpted what is now known as his Burghers of Calais (1889) as well as his Pierre de Wissant, which visually represent the wet clothing the six would have worn when surrendering.
About the Artist
François Auguste René Rodin, better known as Auguste Rodin, is known as one of the most famous French sculptors of all time. Most of his works contain themes of mythology, allegory, and nature, highlighting the human figure and body. The emotional appeal and contorting drama meshes the intricacy of Neoclassical sculptures with the drama and emotion of the Baroque. Rodin is one of the few sculptors known outside of the art world with modern society, especially with his sculptures that include The Shade (1881), The Kiss (1882), The Thinker (1880), and The Burghers of Calais (1889).
About the Movement
Pierre de Wissant was composed in the Impressionist Age of art. Impressionism was characterized by extremely loose brushstrokes that were visible throughout the entire painting. This 19th-Century (or 1800s) art movement took landscapes, figures, and objects and incorporated both movement and emotion. Impressionism, in a matter of style, was almost the blending between Cubism and Baroque art; that dramatic and emotional appeal of the Baroque mixed with the inclusion of motion and the passing of time of Cubism. Some of the most famous Impressionist artists included Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Edgar Degas.
Location of Original Work of Art: Museo Soumaya, Mexico City, Mexico
Pierre de Wissant is one of the six figures as part of Auguste Rodin's Burghers of Calais (1889). According to legend, the six Burghers of Calais were martyrs who surrendered themselves in order to save the French city of Calais during the Hundred Years' War. Rodin first sculpted them as nude figures, then covered the bodies with wet sheets of canvas. Taking those as models, Rodin sculpted what is now known as his Burghers of Calais (1889) as well as his Pierre de Wissant, which visually represent the wet clothing the six would have worn when surrendering.
About the Artist
François Auguste René Rodin, better known as Auguste Rodin, is known as one of the most famous French sculptors of all time. Most of his works contain themes of mythology, allegory, and nature, highlighting the human figure and body. The emotional appeal and contorting drama meshes the intricacy of Neoclassical sculptures with the drama and emotion of the Baroque. Rodin is one of the few sculptors known outside of the art world with modern society, especially with his sculptures that include The Shade (1881), The Kiss (1882), The Thinker (1880), and The Burghers of Calais (1889).
About the Movement
Pierre de Wissant was composed in the Impressionist Age of art. Impressionism was characterized by extremely loose brushstrokes that were visible throughout the entire painting. This 19th-Century (or 1800s) art movement took landscapes, figures, and objects and incorporated both movement and emotion. Impressionism, in a matter of style, was almost the blending between Cubism and Baroque art; that dramatic and emotional appeal of the Baroque mixed with the inclusion of motion and the passing of time of Cubism. Some of the most famous Impressionist artists included Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Edgar Degas.
Location of Original Work of Art: Museo Soumaya, Mexico City, Mexico