Glasgow museum reveals its $3.7 million sculpture by Auguste Rodin goes missing

Glasgow, UK

Officials at Glasgow Museums say a sculpture, worth $3.7 million, by world-famous artist Auguste Rodin has gone missing. The museum purchased the plaster version of Les Bourgeois de Calais back in 1901.

Jérôme le Blay, the museum’s director, has regretted the disappearance of the statue but has insisted that it “must be put into the context of the times.”

The Guardian reported that the missing sculpture had sustained damages at the time of the 1949 open-air exhibition.

Now, Blay hopes that the unlocated remains of the artefact will be found in the archives at a later date.

It must be noted that almost 1,750 items have been listed as “missing or stolen” by the museum authorities.

Loss dubbed as ‘shameful’

According to Paris-based Comite Rodin, which publicises and catalogues Rodin's work, the disappearance of the statue was “utterly shameful.”

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"Museums may have 100,000 items, so occasionally things get dropped or get lost in shipping. Art is often destroyed in acts of war - that's life - but when it goes missing as a result of mishandling or mismanagement by people it is utterly shameful,” a statement released by Comite Rodin said.

"It really is deeply disappointing to discover Glasgow has lost art of this significance and importance," it added.

More about Rodin and the sculpture

Rodin, who would later gain recognition for his iconic "Thinker" sculpture, was legally permitted in France to create various renditions of "Les Bourgeois" in both plaster and bronze materials.

One such life-size bronze rendition of the sculpture stands prominently within the gardens of the Houses of Parliament in London.

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"Les Bourgeois de Calais" vividly portrays the hardships endured by the residents of the French port city during an arduous 11-month siege by the English, which transpired in the late Middle Ages during the Hundred Years War.

In a poignant act of sacrifice, the townsfolk (Les Bourgeois) offered their lives in exchange for the sparing of their beloved city.

(With inputs from agencies)