RICHARD THIBAUD

Richard Thibaud (born 1967, Angers)
A self-taught painter, Richard Thibaud developed an intense and instinctive connection with drawing from a young age, beginning formal studies at the Beaux-Arts at just 14. Early on, he chose to move beyond academic conventions to pursue a more personal path—one shaped by close observation and a desire for artistic freedom. At 18, his talent was already recognized with a first prize in drawing, marking the beginning of a distinctive journey.
Thibaud works within the figurative tradition, which he revisits with discipline and precision. His hand-drawn compositions combine rigorous draftsmanship, architectural clarity, and a keen sensitivity to light. He draws as much inspiration from classical masters such as Holbein and Velázquez as from the modern introspection found in Hopper or the expressive immediacy of Toulouse-Lautrec.
His paintings explore contemporary interiors and urban panoramas with a cinematic clarity. Space is structured through exacting lines, reflective surfaces, and a crystalline light. Modernist furniture, monumental buildings, and vertiginous cityscapes create a silent stage, where the viewer’s gaze is invited to linger and wander.
Balancing urban realism and graphic abstraction, Richard Thibaud composes paintings like suspended moments. The absence of human figures amplifies the power of the setting, revealing the city as both subject and motif—a quiet presence that mirrors the viewer’s own sense of place and time. His work is contemplative, precise, and imbued with clarity and solitude.