The Burghers of Calais

High school (ages 12+)
Art & Creativity

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/the-burghers-of-calais

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the sculpture material?Bronze
2. What is the location of original commission?Calais, France
3. Why did the six people give themselves up to the English king?They offered themselves because the English king demanded the city surrender or be destroyed, so they chose to give their lives to protect the rest of the people.
4. Who made the sculpture and when was it finished?The artist Auguste Rodin made it, starting in 1884 and finishing the bronze in 1895 after a plaster model in 1889.

Hundred Years' War: A series of conflicts fought between England and France from 1337 to 1453.
Ultimatum: A final demand or statement of terms, the rejection of which will result in retaliation.
Psychological Realism: An artistic approach that emphasizes the inner thoughts and feelings of characters.