Existing comment:
Hirshhorn; Burghers of Calais
This statue is called "The Burghers of Calais" by Auguste Rodin and it resides in the outdoor sculpture garden at the Hirshhorn Museum. Six figures are shown in the throes of wide-ranging emotion as they turn themselves over to the conquering forces to save their city.
This sculpture is considered first among the top 10 "must-see" sculptures in Washington DC according to an article in the Washington Post on August 15 1997. The list:
(1) "The Burghers of Calais" by Auguste Rodin (1884-1889), Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden. (2) "The Adams Memorial" by Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1890), Rock Creek Cemetery. (See photos.) (3) "The General Ulysses S. Grant Memorial" by Henry Merwin Shrady (1922), at Union Square on the east end of the Mall. (See photos.) (4) "The Marine Corps War Memorial" (Iwo Jima monument) by Felix W. deWeldon (1954), north of Arlington Cemetery. (See photos.) (5) "The Navy Marine Memorial" by Ernesto Begni del Platta (1934), George Washington Parkway in the Lady Bird Johnson Park. (6) Lincoln Gallery at the National Museum of American Art; various contemporary pieces. (7) "Voltri VII" by David Smith (1962), National Gallery of Art's East Building. (8) "Thomas Jefferson" (Holding the Declaration of Independence) by David d'Angers (1833), US Capitol Rotunda. (9) "Back I-IV" by Henri Matisse (1909-1931), Hirschhorn Sculpture Garden. (See photos.) (10) "Major General George H. Thomas Memorial" by John Quincy Adams Ward (1879), in Thomas Circle. (See photos.) |