The context

The Masonic lodge " Sincerity, Perfect Union and Constant Friendship Gathered " in Besançon, one of the oldest in France (1764), wanted to commission a work intended to give back its place to the tomb of Just Muiron (died in 1881), a freemason and furrierist, located in the Chaprais cemetery, which also contains the grave of Victor Considérant's wife, on which the ashes of the latter, a well-known furrierist (who led the attempt to install a phalanstery in Dallas, Texas) were scattered.

The commission

The project of the artist Roe Ethridge (also author of images for the world of fashion) is centred around the aspiration to Freedom of individuals and peoples whose furrierist society was an important actor in the first half of the 19th century : a movement that would culminate in the revolutions of 1848.

The artist chose as a reference image the "Young Greek of the tomb of Markos Botsaris" (liberator of Greece to whom Victor Hugo - from Besançon - paid a vibrant tribute in "Les Orientales") by sculptor David d'Angers (elected deputy to the 1848 Assembly). Carried out in 1827 and still in place, this very young girl's sculpture lies on the tombstone of the Greek hero in Missolonghi.

Roe Ethridge

Roe Ethridge is a photographer. His field of activity is vast, from the commissioning of fashion magazines or companies to the production of unique images relating to classical genres (portrait, still life, landscape) or more uncertain : a true personality whose originality is not without evoking that of Juergen Teller and this in a field that is nevertheless very popular. After his participation in the Whitney Biennale in 2008, his works have been included in the collections of major institutions (Moma, Tate Modern...). In 2012, he benefited from an important solo exhibition at the Consortium in Dijon.