Jean Labourdette’s paintings are inspired by early Flemish portraiture, Russian icons, religious and folk art, and characters in circus sideshows. Primarily interested in mortality, the afterlife, and permanence of the soul, Labourdette uses imagery such as pigeons and sparrows to symbolize the soul, while skulls and vermin symbolize death. He also adds sculptural elements to his paintings in order “to challenge [the frame’s] limits by turning it into a window or a theater stage rather than a border.”