St Thomas

Returning to Brussels from Italy Duquesnoy was immediately charged with important commissions. Among the first commissions were the four statues of apostles for the church of St Gudule (now St Michael's Cathedral. These are classicist figures, wearing togas, part of a series on which Lucas Faydherbe and Cornelis van Mildert also worked. The St Thomas makes clear how much Jérôme Duquesnoy owed to the style of his elder brother François. Apart from the gentle drapery and classical contrapposto, it also shows a controlled expressiveness in the features which follows the example of François Duquesnoy's St Andrew in St Peter's in Rome.