In 1879, Auguste Rodin entered a terra-cotta sketch entitled A Call to Arms in a competition to create a monument in memory of all Frenchmen who died in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.  Despite Rodin’s painstaking effort, he did not even receive honorable mention.  The piece was seen as too rough and violent for a public area, and it clashed with the calmness of the peaceful reconciliation and reconstruction in France.

The piece, however, is highly emotional and captivating. The winged figure, representing the spirit of the war and the Liberty of France, is rallying her forces in a passionate battle cry.  The wounded soldier slumps in defeat against Liberty, clutching his side in pain.  The influence of Michelangelo on Rodin’s work is apparent in the way that the male figure is rendered.  The dying warrior’s head is bent back sharply and his left knee juts forward, inspired by Michelangelo’s unfinished Saint Matthew and even the Christ figure of the Pieta in Florence’s Duomo. 

Many models of the work exist in several sizes and mediums.  This particular model is a cast bronze enlargement. One can imagine the effect that a full-sized sculpture would have had on the viewer since the smaller version is still so powerful. A Call to Arms was actually commissioned as a public monument in 1916, but as a commemoration to the battle of Verdum.
 
 

RELATED LINKS

Musee Rodin  Official website for the Musee Rodin, which houses Rodin's collections of other artists' works.