Raymond Sudre (1870 - 1962) Héléna, city of Roussillon dreams of its ancient splendour Bronze with a double patina of light brown and red ochre. Signed " Raymond Sudre " on the side of the armchair. Bears the mark of the foundryman " SIOT PARIS " and the n° 628 / E on the back. Size: 21 x 15.5 x 17 cm Related works: - Raymond Sudre, Héléna, cité roussillonnaise, rêve à son antique splendour, 1902, Plaster with patina, 200 x 129 x 167 cm, signed Raymond Sudre and dated 1902, bought at the salon of the Société des artistes français in Paris in 1902, cat. no. 628 / E on the back. 2869, Central national des arts plastiques, on deposit at the Hyacinthe Rogaud museum in Perpignan, inv. no. FNAC 1141 - Raymond Sudre, Héléna, city of Roussillon, dreams of its ancient splendour, 1902, marble, H. 192 cm, Carcassonne, Jardin André-Chenier Born in Perpignan and son of a marble mason, Raymond Sudre trained at the Beaux-Arts de Paris, in the workshops of Alexandre Falguière and Antonin Mercié. Second Grand Prix de Rome in 1900, he was truly successful at the Salon des artistes français in 1902 with Helena, a city in Roussillon dreaming of its ancient splendour. He received the Desprez Prize for this work as well as a travel grant allowing him to travel throughout Europe, from Spain to the Netherlands to perfect his style and his training. In 1905, he was commissioned by the State to create a marble version of this Helen. The work was finally installed in the Jardin des Plantes in Carcassonne in 1907. The model of our bronze was however intended for the city of Elne, Elna in Catalan, near Perpignan. Sudre was inspired both by the name of this city and by the female figure with which it has been associated since the 4th century when the Emperor Constantine had a caestrum built there, to which he gave the name of his mother, Hélène. Sudre marble was never to be used in this city. The work was indeed a scandal. The sculptor did not represent the allegory that the city of Elne was expecting. He created a woman in a pose