The reduction of this figure from "The Burghers of Calais" to a bust probably took place when Rodin was preparing his grand retrospective for the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris.

The most important of the Burghers, Jean d'Aire was selected to present the key of the city of Calais and his life to Edward III of England in 1347. Rodin's treatment of the "Bust of Jean d'Aire" is strongly realistic and includes the ominous rope around the figure's neck.

A new commission for a bronze version of The Burghers was the last major project to which Rodin devoted himself before his death in 1917.