The François Rude Museum, Dijon (Musée Rude)

The François Rude Museum was established in 1947 in the transept of the church of Saint-Etienne, built in the middle of the 11C (the nave was reconstructed in the 18C). It presents casts of works by the Dijon Sculptor François Rude (born in Dijon in 1784, died in Paris in 1855). The crowning glory of the collection is the life-size cast of the famous bas-relief of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, depicting the departure of volunteers to fight the Prussians and commonly known as the Marseillaise. The many items on display testify to François Rude’s talent and the many sources of his inspiration: mythological subjects, large historically-inspired compositions, romantic works, religious subjects, together with numerous busts.