Raising Morale in Times of War

As mentioned in a prior post I went up to the Hirshhorn Museum for a lecture.  It did not start until 6:30 and since we wanted to beat the rush hour we got there several hours early, giving us time to wander around.  Outside the back (or front since there are two entrances) of the museum we came across the car and rock that I uploaded in a prior post.  More information on it:  Jimmie Durham: Still Life with Spirit and Xitle, 2007.  I did not walk around the sculpture and therefore missed the whimsy of the eyes on the rock! The explanation: "Nearly 2,000 years ago, the Mexican volcano Xitle, or “spirit,” erupted and destroyed the ancient city of Cuicuilo. To create the seemingly impulsive sculpture, Durham quarried a 9-ton boulder of red basalt from the archaeological site and used a crane to drop it onto the roof of a 1992 Chrysler Spirit. As a finishing touch, he graffitied the stone with a smug, cartoon-like face. Despite its comedy, the work carries a complex gravity, capturing the moment at which the spirits of ancient and modern collide. "  Now at least I have a little better understanding of the artwork.

While I am always interested in the various sculptures, Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) is always a compelling draw for me.    Rodin has a very broad style and as he aged he became more rebellious with form and space and abstraction using marble and bronze and even later in life had his sculpture of Honore de Balzac rejected by those who commissioned him after a long time of missing deadlines.  I like his more traditional work, but realize he was truly a genius.   He grew up poor and studied under a "Romantic" teacher and I can see that influence in his early works as he was finding his style.   His sculpture, The Kiss, which I saw in France was truly magical and very erotic.

One of the most interesting places in my city to see some of his work is the Hirshhorn sculpture garden across the street from the museum itself.  It is buried a story down into the ground and therefore a lovely quiet place in the heart of the Washington DC Mall.  I have rarely found it busy, but it was particularly quiet on the early evening of our visit.

The Burghers of Calais is prominent in the garden and I have to pause each time I see it.  I can write about the story behind the sculpture but I will take text from the Rodin museum in Philadelphia which is much more succinct.  "In 1346 the English king Edward III laid siege to the French port of Calais. Eleven months later, Edward demanded the surrender of six of the town’s leading men, or burghers, in return for sparing its citizens. Rodin’s sculpture commemorates this episode and emphasizes the internal struggle of each man as he walks toward his fate wearing a sackcloth and rope halter. The burghers were later spared thanks to the intervention of the English queen, who feared that their deaths would bring bad luck to her unborn child."  There are SEVEN copies of this sculpture around the world.

Glyptoteket in Copenhagen, cast 1903.
the Royal Museum in Mariemont, Belgium, cast 1905.
Victoria Tower Gardens in the shadow of the Houses of Parliament in London; cast 1908, installed on this site in 1914 and unveiled 19 July 1915. The inscription on the pedestal was carved by Eric Gill.[9]
the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia, cast 1925 and installed in 1929.
the gardens of the Musée Rodin in Paris, cast 1926 and given to the museum in 1955.
Kunstmuseum in Basel, cast 1943 and installed in 1948.
the Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., cast 1943 and installed in 1966.
the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo, cast 1953 and installed in 1959.[10]
the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California, cast 1968.
the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, cast 1985 and installed in 1989.[11]
PLATEAU (formerly the Rodin Gallery[12]) in Seoul.[13] This is the 12th and final cast in the edition, cast 1995.

Therefore, maybe you will have an opportunity to see it in reality.

It is set out in enough space that you can stroll around it.  I see tremendous fluidity and can almost hear them breathing.  The anguish is portrayed with a purity one does not often see in bronze.  Each stands alone in his sorrow, not connecting with another.  They are larger than life and you have to look up to see the faces.

"The Burghers of Calais , was in no small measure prompted by a deliberate policy of raising morale after the disasters of the Franco-Prussian War and the ensuing Commune by creating public monuments to patriotic Frenchmen. "  It took ten years to complete.