The Cache River at Moonrise

Walter Klinkhoff Gallery, Montreal Private Collection, Ontario

A.K. Prakash, Impressionism in Canada: A Journey of Rediscovery, Stuttgart, 2015, pages 297-331

Following a six year stay in Paris and further travels through the French countryside, in 1895 Maurice Cullen exhibited at the Salon and was the first Canadian to be offered an associate membership to the Societé nationale des beaux-arts. While overseas, Cullen spent time with James Wilson Morrice, vacationing and painting in Brittany and Venice. Despite his growing success in France, the artist chose to return to Montreal that same year. Cullen was determined to give Canadians the opportunity to appreciate the impressionist art he admired in Paris, and to portray the Canadian landscape in this preferred style. “The Cache River at Moonrise” showcases Cullen’s ability to adapt his impressionist approach to the Quebec wilderness. The artist “excelled in crisp winter landscapes in the radiant northern light ... He was determined to record the texture and varied colours of his country in impasto layers of paint – and no other impressionist did it better.” Cullen always sketched outdoors, even during the coldest months while standing in snowshoes. This work captures the crisp air of the province’s frigid winter, and the beauty of the snowy wilderness at moonrise. Cullen created a completely new vision of the Canadian wilderness, which influenced the next generation of landscape artists including the Group of Seven.