#JesuitMuseums: College of the Holy Cross
AJCU’s #JesuitMuseums series is back for the summer! Today’s post on Eustache de Saint-Pierre (by celebrated French sculptor Auguste Rodin) was contributed by Meredith Fluke, Director of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Gallery at the College of the Holy Cross.
The monumental sculpture of Eustache de Saint-Pierre was created by French sculptor Auguste Rodin. Regarded as the father of modern sculpture, Rodin was known for his revolutionary approach to the medium; his compositions often reference the physical properties of the materials from which they were made, including bronze, plaster, and marble. The bronze figure of Eustache was part of a sculptural group (known as the Burghers of Calais) commissioned by the city of Calais, France to commemorate events that occurred during the Hundred Years’ War (1337 to 1453). The sculpture is one of 11 Rodin sculptures at Holy Cross, given in the 1980s by Iris and B. Gerald Cantor, as foundational gifts for the Cantor Gallery Collection.
To create the composition for the sculpture, Rodin relied on the medieval chronicler Jean de Froissart, who tells of the besiegement of Calais in 1346 by the English, who demanded hostages in exchange for the city’s freedom. Led by Eustache of Saint-Pierre, six Calaisiens submitted themselves for execution, and were brought before the King of England, Edward III. Although Edward ordered their beheading, the burghers were saved through the intervention of the Queen, Philippa of Hainault. Regardless, their sacrifice was hailed as an example of civic virtue in the late-19th century by the citizens of Calais. In 1885, the city’s municipal council commissioned Rodin to memorialize it in a monument, which was unveiled there in 1895, after a decade of design and revision.
Like many of the Rodin sculptures in the Cantor’s collection, the Holy Cross Eustache was cast posthumously. The sculpture was moved to its current location in 2003, where it was built into a fountain dedicated to former interim College president, Frank Vellaccio. The ensemble sits at the center of Memorial Plaza, dedicated to all martyred Jesuits, as well as the Holy Cross alumni who perished in the attacks of September 11th.
