August Rodin

Auguste Rodin, French, 1840-1917
Project for a Monument to the Defense of Paris (The Call to Arms), 1879
cast later bronze, 44 1/2 x 22 3/4 x 16 in. (113 x 57.8 x 406)
Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Ackland Fund

Following France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, Auguste Rodin produced the Project for a Monument to the Defense of Paris (The Call to Arms) in 1879.  The sculpture, which was created for a competition commemorating the Frenchmen who participated in the war, presents two figures that honor those gallant sacrifices for the French cause.  The dramatic composition of the winged female figure rising above the wounded warrior expresses movement and catharsis as well as heroic defeat and struggle.  Although the sculpture did not win the competition, it remains a powerful symbol for the heroic French fight against the Germans.

~Katie Holt

An extended look at Rodin’s Call to Arms by Katie Holt

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