Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) Head of Jean d'Aire, reduction Bronze sculpture with dark brown patina richly shaded with green Early edition made in 1944 by the founder Alexis RUDIER for the Musée RODIN Signed "A. Rodin" in the neck on the right H. 6.3, W. 5.4, D. 6.5 cm (without base) PROVENANCE : - Musée Rodin, Paris - Mrs widow Edmond GUERIN (acquired from the former in December 1950) - Estate of Maître Michel ROSTAND - Galerie Univers Du Bronze, Paris - Private collection, Paris NOTE : - A certificate of authenticity from the Galerie Univers Du Bronze, Paris, will be given to the buyer. - Work included in the archives of the Auguste Rodin Committee. - Declaration of inclusion in the Catalogue critique de l'oeuvre sculpté d'Auguste RODIN, currently being prepared by the Galerie BRAME et LORENCEAU, under the direction of Jérôme LE BLAY, under number 2016-4868B. - In a letter dated 3 March 2016, the Comité RODIN stated that our sculpture is typical of the bronzes cast in sand by RUDIER and executed for the Musée RODIN precisely in August 1944. Without being able to determine the exact number of proofs made for this version of the Tête de Jean d'Aire en réduction, the Comité RODIN can nevertheless state, to the best of its knowledge, that the artist had at least one proof made by Alexis RUDIER in 1917. The Musée Rodin took over the production of the plaster cast from its collections, commissioning five copies from the Alexis Rudier foundry between 1927 and 1951, and then nine copies from the Georges Rudier foundry between 1956 and 1965. There are therefore at least fifteen proofs of this reduction. - Auguste Rodin created the sculpture of Jean d'Aire in 1887, as part of his figurative group Les Bourgeois de Calais, a monumental sculpture commissioned by the town of Calais to commemorate the martyrdom of a group of citizens who in 1347, during the Hundred Years' War, agreed to be executed by the English to save the lives of the other inhabitants of the town. The Queen of England was moved by their courage and persuaded the King not to condemn them to death. Auguste Rodin portrays the bourgeois at a moment when death seems certain, and their expressions evoke despair and resignation. The figure of Jean d'Aire is the fourth from the right. The Burghers of Calais is considered to be a major sculpture in Auguste Rodin's oeuvre.