Jean d’Aire by Auguste Rodin, second model. 1885 (cast iron 1971). Jean d’Aire is one of six characters in the monumental and heroic ensemble commemorating the last symbolic act of the fall of Calais after finally falling into the hands of the English after 11 months of siege during the Hundred Years War. The group named Les Bourgeois de Calais symbolizes the six sacrifices delivered to Edward III to be executed in exchange for safe conduct for the rest of the Citadins. The condemned middle-class citizen will be spared at the request and the tears of Queen Philippa de Hainaut wife of Edward III.
This copy is located in the MMFA (Montreal Museum of Fine Arts) lost in the main hall of the old part of the museum where almost no one goes.
