Auguste Rodin

Musée Rodin, Paris
Charles Pacquement, Paris (and sold: Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, December 12, 1932, lot 72)
Galerie Eugène Blot, Paris (acquired at the above sale)
Sale: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, May 31, 1956, lot 6
Galerie Fine Arts Associates (Otto Gerson), New York (acquired at the above sale)
(Probably) Private Collection, United States
Marlborough Gallery, Inc., New York (acquired in 1965)
Mr. & Mrs. Josef Rosensaft, New York (acquired from the above in 1965 and sold: Sotheby Parke-Bernet, New York, March 17, 1976, lot 3)
Acquired at the above sale

New York, Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, Curt Valentin, 1963, no. 5, illustrated in the catalouge

Georges Grappe, Catalogue du Musée Rodin, Paris, 1927, illustration of the plaster version p. 52
Bernard Champigneulle, Rodin, London, 1967, illustrations of the monumental version pp. 69-102
Robert Descharnes & Jean-Francois Chabrun, Auguste Rodin, Lausanne, 1967, illustration of the monumental version p. 114
Ionel Jianou & Cécile Goldscheider, Rodin, Paris, 1967, illustration of the monumental bronze p. 97
Ludwig Goldscheider, Rodin Sculptures, London, 1970, illustration of the plaster version pl. 38
John L. Tancock, The Sculpture of Auguste Rodin, Philadelphia, 1976, illustration of another cast p. 390
Jacques de Caso & Patricia B. Sanders, Rodin's Sculpture, A Critical Study of the Spreckels Collection, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 1977, no. 43, illustration of another cast p. 222
Albert E. Elsen, Rodin's Art, The Rodin Collection of the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University, New York, 2003, no. 15, illustration of another cast p. 103
Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, The Bronzes of Rodin, Catalogue of Works in the Musée Rodin, vol. I, Paris, 1997, illustration of another cast p. 230 

Rich brown patina. Some surface dirt, primarily in the deeper crevices, otherwise fine. This work is in excellent condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Between 1884, when he was first approached by the city of Calais, and 1895, when the monument was unveiled, Rodin worked tirelessly on developing the character of the individual figures of Les Bourgeois de Calais, while at the same time contemplating the relationship between them. Rather than idealizing the men, he sought to explore the physical and psychological tension occasioned by this historic event. His second maquette, sent to Calais in July 1885, was criticized by the committee for emphasizing the men's individuality, instead of focusing on the idea of collective heroism. Unperturbed by this criticism, Rodin continued developing the expressive quality of his subjects.

During the inauguration of the monument on June 13, 1895, in Calais, Octave Mirbeau proclaimed: "The movement, the attitudes, the expressions are so true, of such a genuine human feeling, that, behind the group, ready to go, we can actually hear the buzzing of the crowd encouraging them and sobbing, the cheers and farewells. No other complication, no scenic concern of the group; no allegory, not one attribute. Only expressive, fine forms, so expressive that they become ready states of mind" ("Auguste Rodin," in Le Journal, June 4, 1895, quoted in Catherine Lampert, "The Burghers of Calais," in Rodin (exhibition catalogue), Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2006-07, p. 236).