# A Burgher of Calais (Jean d'Aire)

- By: Auguste Rodin (French, 1840–1917)
- Date: Modeled 1889
- Medium: Plaster
- Classification: Sculpture
- Dimensions: 208.3 × 66 cm (82 × 26 in.)
- Culture: France
- Credit line: Gift of Mrs. Addie M. Hall Ellis
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/719)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/d0a72b06-f1ee-4464-d58c-5e39bc0534b3/full/!1392,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

This statue is a part of the famous sculptural group The Burghers of Calais, made by Auguste Rodin to commemorate a tragic episode from the 14th century, during the Hundred Years’ War between France and England. Rodin depicted the moment when six courageous men offered them-selves as hostages to Edward III, the king of England, in exchange for the liberation of the city of Calais from a siege that had been starving inhabitants for nearly a year. This plaster statue (painted to simulate bronze) was exhibited in the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago, and entered the Art Institute’s collection that year.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0