Old Pioneer/Jean-Baptiste Cholette, 1918

The Artist Eugénie Farmer Saint-Jean, niece of the artist, Montreal Private Collection, Toronto

"35th Annual Spring Exhibition", Art Association of Montreal, 4‒27 April 1918, no. 341 as "Type canadien, étude" at $500 "40th Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Exhibition," Art Association of Montreal, 21 November‒21 December 1918, no. 186 as "Type canadien, étude" "42nd Annual Spring Exhibition," Art Association of Montreal, 2‒26 April 1925, no. 264 as "Jean-Baptiste Cholette" at $1,000 "Exhibition of Canadian Art", Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, 26 November‒23 December 1925, no. 89 as "Jean-Baptiste Cholet" "British Empire Exhibition of Canadian Art", Corporation Art Gallery, Oldham, 12 June‒10 July 1926, no. 88 as "Jean-Baptiste Cholet" "Manchester Exhibition of Canadian Pictures," Queen’s Branch Art Gallery, Manchester, 28 August‒9 October 1926, no. 180 as "Jean- Baptiste Cholet" "50th Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Exhibition", Art Gallery of Toronto, 29 November 1927‒8 January 1928, no. 148 as "J. B. Cholet, Old Pioneer" "4th Annual Exhibition on Canadian Art", National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 28 January‒28 February 1929, no. 151 as "J. B. Cholet, Old Pioneer" "Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Exhibition", Imperial Art Gallery, South Kensington, 6 April‒29 June 1929, no. 132 as "J. B. Cholet, Old Pioneer" "Rétrospective Suzor-Coté," École des beaux-arts de Montréal, 3‒20 December 1929, no. 40 as "Jean-Baptiste Cholet" "Rétrospective Suzor-Coté", Galerie l’Art vivant, Montreal, 3‒21 December 1964, no. 6 as "Le Père Cholette" "Rétrospective Suzor-Coté", Centre d’art de Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, 28 January‒6 February 1966, no. 12 as "Père Cholette" "Suzor-Coté Retour à Arthabaska", Musée Laurier, Arthabaska, 31 May‒27 September 1987, no. 45

‘Artists Young and Well-known’, “The Herald”, 5 April 1918 Laurier Lacroix, “Suzor-Coté Retour à Arthabaska”, Musée Laurier, Arthabaska, 1987, no 45, reproduced page 38 Laurier Lacroix, “Suzor-Coté: Light and Matter”, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 2002 Katerina Atanassova, “Canada and Impressionism: New Horizons, 1880- 1930”, Ottawa, 2019, no. 83, reproduced page 201

Arthabaska remains the focal point of inspiration for Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté on his final return from France in the summer of 1907. Not only does he celebrate his native country in sublime winter landscapes, but he creates a gallery of portraits of the settlers who cleared out the region. The first one whom he depicted is Esdras Cyras in 1908. He is undoubtedly the best known, having been the subject of many drawings, paintings and sculpture works. If he exposes this kind of subject from 1910, he only uses generic titles (for example, “One of Arthabaska’s Settlers”, “Old French Canadian Pioneer”, “Portrait of a Habitant”) to designate them. He thus seeks to name a “race” of pioneers without distinguishing between their character. Only beginning in 1925 do we see the appearance of the proper names of its models, which identify several of the models depicted from the elderly population of Arthabaska. Expanding his circle of models, Suzor-Coté took advantage of a stay with his brother Eugène Côté in Curran, Ontario, to sketch the features of Jean-Baptiste Cholet (or Cholette) in profile in 1916. The grid drawing was used to produce this oil painting and a pastel work (MNBAQ ). The same model poses, this time from the front, for another pastel drawing dated 1922 (MNBAQ , repr. Lacroix 2002, page 257). It bears mentioning that the subject attracts attention because of his large sideburns, which surround his face and characterize its physiognomy. The furrowed and sun-chiselled features, as well as the bushy eyebrows define the personality of this otherwise austere man. The simplicity of the treatment of the dark blue shirt contrasts with the treatment of the background, where strokes of brown, green and pale yellow harmonize together. This loose approach differs from the more structured mosaic backgrounds found in the same period (see “Magdelena”, 1921). Here, the artist experiments with brushwork, a free choreography in which the symbols are juxtaposed in no particular sequence. Is it a wallpaper that inspired this sweeping of space, defined as pure painting? Still, the novelty of this use is not noticed; contemporary observers focus instead on the model as "a study of a rugged old man". The artist featured this composition on one of his business cards during the 1920s when it was featured in several exhibitions. It also hung high on a wall of a room during the major retrospective of 1929 at the École des beaux-arts de Montréal. We extend our thanks to Laurier Lacroix, C.M., art historian, for his assistance in researching this artwork and for contributing the preceding essay. Arthabaska demeure le point central de l’inspiration de Suzor-Coté à son retour définitif de France à l’été de 1907. Non seulement célèbre-r-il son pays natal dans de sublimes paysages d’hiver, mais il réalise une galerie de portraits des colons qui ont défriché cette région. Esdras Cyr, le premier, qu’il dépeint dès 1908, est sans doute le plus connu faisant l’objet de multiples réalisations dessinées, peintes et sculptées. S’il expose ce genre de sujet à partir de 1910, il n’utilise alors que des titres génériques (ex. ‘One of Arthabaska’s Settlers”, “Old French Canadian Pioneer”, “Portrait of a Habitant”) pour les désigner. Il cherche ainsi à nommer une « race » de pionniers, sans distinction de leur caractère individuel. Il faut attendre 1925 pour voir apparaître les noms propres de ses modèles qui déclinent l’identité de plusieurs modèles tirés parmi la population âgée d’Arthabaska. Élargissant son cercle de modèles, Suzor-Coté profite d’un séjour chez son frère Eugène Côté à Curran (Ont.) pour dessiner en 1916 les traits de Jean-Baptiste Cholet (ou Cholette) de profil. Le dessin mis au carreau a servi à réaliser cette huile et un pastel (MNBAQ). Le même modèle pose, de face cette fois, pour un pastel daté de 1922 (MNBAQ, repr. Lacroix 2002, p. 257). Il faut dire que le sujet attire l’attention en raison de ses immenses rouflaquettes (ou pattes de lapin) qui encerclent son visage et caractérisent sa physionomie. Les traits ravinés et burinés par le soleil, ainsi que les sourcils broussailleux définissent également la personnalité de cet homme autrement austère. La sobriété du traitement de la chemise bleu foncé contraste avec le traitement du fond où se côtoient des taches brunes, vertes et jaunes pales. Cette approche très libre se distingue des fonds mosaïqués, plus structurés que l’on retrouve à la même période (voir “Magdalena”, 1921). Ici, l’artiste expérimente les mouvements du pinceau, chorégraphie libre où les signes graphiques plus ou moins distincts se juxtaposent sans ordonnancement. Est-ce un papier peint qui a inspiré ce balayage de l’espace qui se définit comme pure peinture? Toujours est-il que la nouveauté de cet usage n’est pas remarquée, les observateurs contemporains se concentrant sur le modèle, « a study of a rugged old man ». L’artiste a fait de cette composition une de ses cartes de visite au cours des années 1920 alors qu’il figure dans de nombreuses expositions. Il trône d’ailleurs en haut d’un des murs de la salle lors de la grande rétrospective de 1929 à l’École des beaux-arts de Montréal. Nous remercions Laurier Lacroix, C.M., historien de l’art, d’avoir fait des recherches sur cette œuvre et d’avoir fourni l’essai précédent.