Canadian Artists, Part II – Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté

Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté

(1869–1937)

His name is quite a mouthful.

Monsieur Suzor-Coté – like M. Gagnon from my last post – was born in the province of Quebec. From the town of Arthabaska (modern-day Victoriaville), he began his artistic career working on interior decorations for churches. Later, he studied in Paris (with Léon Bonnat) and returned to Canada in 1908 and maintained a studio in Montreal. where he sculpted as well as painted.

(Biography on National Gallery of Canada site.)

Mauve and Gold

Levée de Lun

He drew influences from the artists Henri Harpignies, Frits Thaulow and Jean-François Millet. It is said that he put paint down very thickly with a brush and then flattened it with a palette knife to get the effect he wanted. Even from online images, some of his paintings look to have very heavy paint application.

His color handling and the texture of his work really knock me out. I would love to see a work of his in person.

the man himself – looking dapper

Evening

After the Breakup

Sunset Arthabaska

Paysage

Canadian Artists, Part I – Clarence Gagnon

Time to share my enthusiasm for some artists that have recently come to my attention.

I am a fan of members of the famous Canadian Group of Seven painters, and they led me to other great Canadian artists. Specifically two, one of which I will show off in this post.

Clarence Gagnon

1881–1942

French Canadian painter & engraver

Brittany Goose Girl

Baie Saint-Paul

c. 1914-1917

Clarence Gagnon was born in rural Quebec and studied art first in Montreal. He later also studied in Paris and returned to Europe many times. He lived most of his life in Baie-Saint-Paul, not far from Quebec City, downriver along the St. Lawrence.

Even though he lived and worked in Europe for long stretches, his subject remained almost exclusively his beloved Charlevoix region of Eastern Quebec.

En Novembre

Gagnon_Le Ruisseau, Baie-Saint-Paul

I just love his work. He had a great color sense and a wonderful looseness in his painting technique. All that, and then I saw his engravings – whoa. They are absolutely stunning and full of mood.

The National Gallery of Canada has a nice biography of him and a bunch of work online.

Gagnon_Jardins du Grand Séminaire, Montréal

Overlooking the Vallée du Gouffre, Charlevoix

Summer Day, Les Andelys, Normandy

Summer Scene, Baie-Saint-Paul

A little analysis of the above painting:

– wide, panoramic format (ratio of 1:3.3)

– cool color scheme of blues overall, with the house being the only overtly warm area

– groups of blue trees form 3 points of "rest," with the eye tending to move between them

– most saturated area of color is foreground center group of trees, also a very high contrast spot from trees to river behind

Next time: Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté