Pierre de Wiessant

Auguste Rodin

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This is a reduced version of one of the figures of the monumental group The Burghers of Calais (see 1989.407). The tension of Pierre de Wiessant’s twisted stance announces his conflicted state as he approaches his own demise. The left side of his body stands erect, proceeding toward the enemy English camp while his right side pivots backward, his foot dragging behind him. Raising a large splayed hand, he shields his gaze from his fate.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art