31 January - 29 March 2015
The large plaster sculpture exhibited by Auguste Rodin at the 1901 Biennale was purchased by the city of Venice for the collection of Ca' Pesaro and today stands at the start of the new layout of the Galleria Internazionale d'Arte Moderna.
This well-known sculptural group, several times replicated by Rodin, has inspired a famous work by Candida Höfer - one of the leading exponents of the so-called Düsseldorf School - who has photographed 12 casts by Rodin in their installations in various international public collections.
The pristine harmony of Höfer's photographic eye - an artist present at the 2003 Biennale - is highlighted by the serial nature of the works, thanks to her ability to capture and fix in an image of broad perspective depth all the dynamic and suffering expressiveness of the heroic burghers of Calais, who in 1346 opposed the siege of Edward III, King of England, and as modelled by Rodin in 1889. The dialogue with the sculpture renders topical all the creative energy of the past, offering us replicas of a masterly scenographic impact, powerful yet restrained, thanks to the strict perspective standards typical of the German photographer.