Auguste Rodin's sculpture of the six burghers of Calais stands outside the Hôtel de Ville, and it is one of the most affecting works of public art in France. Rodin made it in 1889 to commemorate a famous episode from the Hundred Years' War: in 1347, after Edward III's year-long siege of the city, six leading citizens volunteered to walk out barefoot with ropes around their necks, offering themselves for execution in exchange for the lives of the townspeople. Edward's queen, Philippa of Hainault, reportedly interceded and saved them.
What makes the sculpture remarkable is its emotional honesty. Rather than heroic warriors in idealized poses, Rodin shows six ordinary men in extremis — some resolute, some terrified, one doubled over in grief — each responding to the same impossible situation in his own way. There are twelve original bronze castings in museums around the world, but this is the one that stands where it happened.