Evening in Venice

Mr. Claude Bouchard, Ottawa Balzac Fine Arts, Toronto Gallery D’Art Vincent, Ottawa Private Collection, Montreal Gallery 78, Fredericton Private Collection, Fredericton

Laura Brandon quoted in Allison Lawler, ‘Molly Lamb Bobak was first Canadian Woman Sent Overseas as War Artist’, “The Globe and Mail” [online], March 14, 2014 Michelle Gewurtz, “Molly Lamb Bobak: Life & Work” [online publication], Art Canada Institute, Toronto, 2018, pages 63-65

An official war artist during the Second World War, Molly Lamb Bobak was inspired by the jovial celebratory victory parades of the Allied forces while stationed in England. The communal energy and gathering of individuals in a crowd fascinated the artist. Laura Brandon, the authority on the Canadian War Art Program and its artists, explains that Bobak’s work “was very personal. It’s an art about shared experiences and sharing those experiences. It is almost like conversational art.” After being awarded a French government scholarship in 1950 Bobak travelled to France and then fortuitously received a Canada Council Grant which allowed an additional four years of study in Europe. Images such as “Evening in Venice” would have been drawn from the young artist’s exciting period working and traveling abroad with her husband, Bruno Bobak, and their young children. A delicate quality is rendered in the kaleidoscopic evening sky and bustling square below in “Evening in Venice”. Expressionist brushstrokes build texture while the artist’s keen eye for impressionistic colour palettes imbue the work with a celebratory spirit. There is a romantic sensibility amongst the excitement of the composition with the choice of rosy pastels and warm reds highlighting the incredible architectural details of the city. Bobak reflects on her natural gravitation towards crowds as subject matter, stating, “I think that it is an interest I have had ever since I was a kid...I simply love gatherings, mingling... It’s like little ants crawling, the sort of insignificance and yet the beauty of people all getting together.” The day may be coming to a close, but there is an energetic elation within the crowd of people strolling along the Riva degli Schiavani towards the bustling Piazza San Marco, as the evening is just beginning.