The Burghers of Calais (sculpture)

E169453

bronze sculpture public monument sculpture

The Burghers of Calais is a famous bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin depicting six citizens of Calais offering themselves as hostages during the Hundred Years’ War, celebrated for its emotional realism and innovative composition.

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All labels observed (6)

Label	Occurrences
The Burghers of Calais (sculpture) canonical	2
Rodin’s sculpture "The Burghers of Calais"	1
The Burghers of Calais (replica group)	1
The Burghers of Calais by Auguste Rodin	1
The Burghers of Calais sculpture	1
sculpture The Burghers of Calais by Auguste Rodin	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1474189 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: The Burghers of Calais (sculpture)
Context triple: [Calais, notableLandmark, The Burghers of Calais (sculpture)]

A. Fourth Plinth
The Fourth Plinth is a prominent pedestal in London’s Trafalgar Square used for a changing series of contemporary art commissions.
B. Ouack statue
The Ouack statue is one of the bronze duckling figures in Boston’s famous "Make Way for Ducklings" public sculpture, depicting the characters from Robert McCloskey’s beloved children’s book.
C. Stone of Hope sculpture
The Stone of Hope sculpture is the central carved likeness of Martin Luther King Jr. that visitors pass through at his Washington, D.C. memorial, symbolizing his enduring legacy and vision for civil rights.
D. Samson Fountain
Samson Fountain is a grand Baroque water feature at Peterhof renowned for its dramatic sculpture of Samson tearing open a lion’s jaws and its powerful central jet symbolizing Russian victory over Sweden.
E. Joan of Arc statue
The Joan of Arc statue is a bronze equestrian monument in Manhattan honoring the French heroine and saint Joan of Arc.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: The Burghers of Calais (sculpture)
Target entity description: The Burghers of Calais is a famous bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin depicting six citizens of Calais offering themselves as hostages during the Hundred Years’ War, celebrated for its emotional realism and innovative composition.

A. Fourth Plinth
The Fourth Plinth is a prominent pedestal in London’s Trafalgar Square used for a changing series of contemporary art commissions.
B. Ouack statue
The Ouack statue is one of the bronze duckling figures in Boston’s famous "Make Way for Ducklings" public sculpture, depicting the characters from Robert McCloskey’s beloved children’s book.
C. Stone of Hope sculpture
The Stone of Hope sculpture is the central carved likeness of Martin Luther King Jr. that visitors pass through at his Washington, D.C. memorial, symbolizing his enduring legacy and vision for civil rights.
D. Samson Fountain
Samson Fountain is a grand Baroque water feature at Peterhof renowned for its dramatic sculpture of Samson tearing open a lion’s jaws and its powerful central jet symbolizing Russian victory over Sweden.
E. Joan of Arc statue
The Joan of Arc statue is a bronze equestrian monument in Manhattan honoring the French heroine and saint Joan of Arc.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	bronze sculpture ⓘ public monument ⓘ sculpture ⓘ
artHistoricalSignificance	celebrated for emotional realism ⓘ celebrated for innovative composition ⓘ landmark of late 19th-century sculpture ⓘ
artisticFeature	expressive realism ⓘ group composition at ground level ⓘ individualized emotional states ⓘ life-size figures ⓘ
artisticInnovation	figures arranged without clear hierarchy ⓘ rejection of traditional heroic central figure ⓘ
commissionedBy	city of Calais ⓘ linked to: City of Calais
commissionReason	commemoration of the siege of Calais ⓘ
completionDate	1889 ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	France ⓘ
creator	Auguste Rodin ⓘ
depicts	Andrieu d’Andres ⓘ Eustache de Saint Pierre ⓘ Jacques de Wissant ⓘ Jean de Fiennes ⓘ Jean d’Aire ⓘ Pierre de Wissant ⓘ burghers of Calais ⓘ linked to: The Burghers of Calais
genre	public art ⓘ
height	approximately 2.3 metres ⓘ
historicalEventDepicted	Edward III’s demand for hostages ⓘ
inception	1884 ⓘ
materialUsed	bronze ⓘ
movement	Modern sculpture ⓘ Realism ⓘ
narrativeContext	Hundred Years’ War ⓘ linked to: Hundred Years' War siege of Calais ⓘ linked to: Siege of Calais (1346–1347)
notableCast	Calais, France ⓘ linked to: Calais Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C. ⓘ linked to: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Kunstmuseum Basel ⓘ Musée Rodin, Paris ⓘ National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo ⓘ linked to: National Museum of Western Art Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen ⓘ Rodin Museum, Philadelphia ⓘ linked to: Rodin Museum Victoria Tower Gardens, London ⓘ linked to: Victoria Tower Gardens
originalLanguageTitle	Les Bourgeois de Calais ⓘ linked to: The Burghers of Calais
originalLocation	Calais ⓘ
theme	civic heroism ⓘ courage in the face of death ⓘ sacrifice ⓘ suffering ⓘ
unveiledIn	1895 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (7)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Calais → notableLandmark → The Burghers of Calais (sculpture) ⓘ

Siege of Calais (1346–1347) → associatedWork → The Burghers of Calais (sculpture) ⓘ

City of Calais → knownFor → The Burghers of Calais sculpture ⓘ