French sculptor and painter. In 1841 he entered the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris. Augustin-Alexandre Dumont was one of his teachers. In 1848 he won the Prix de Rome in the sculpture category with his Philoctete partant pour le siege de Troie ("Philoctetes Leaves for the Siege of Troy") in plaster. His marble statue of Virgil (Musée d'Orsay, Paris), executed after his return from Rome, shows his classicism. Thomas was a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts. //