The context

A group of conservators wanted to revive the tradition of honouring a sculptor by other sculptors. Sculpted figures of François Rude already exist: a monumental statue showing him seated by Emmanuel Frémiet (nephew by marriage of Rude) stands in front of the Ecole Supérieure d'Art de Dijon and a copy of the bust of the author of the Marseillaise by Paul Cabet, is associated with his funeral monument in the Montparnasse cemetery, finally a sculpture representing him on foot is erected in Dijon on the Place Auguste Dubois. The work commissioned here aims to associate the figure of François Rude with Sophie, his wife, a talented painter. It is intended for the Saint-Philibert church in the Burgundian capital, a Romanesque building that is currently unoccupied.

Thomas Houseago

Born in Leeds in 1972, Thomas Houseago lives in Los Angeles. Rather figurative, he uses plaster and plywood, also making castings. Knowingly using references taken from the history of sculpture, in particular from the modern movement (Cubism, Futurism...), he manages to blur the tracks with an undeniable sense of the three dimensions and their perception.