Born in Quebec City, Charles Edouard Huot moved to Paris at age nineteen to attend the École des Beaux-arts and study in the workshop of Alexandre Cabanel. He participated in numerous exhibitions there, including the1876 Salon. He married Louise Schlachter in 1885, returned to Canada in 1886 on the promise of a large commission of painting the Church of the Holy Saviour in Quebec City. This project firmly established Huot’s career, and it led to many more commissions from religious and political groups.
In “Interior with Seated Figures”, Huot depicts the more pared-down subject of a French-Canadian interior scene featuring a couple, known as le père and la mère Godbout of Ile d’Orléans, and their dog. The woman is calmly knitting, and the man leans back on his chair with his hands crossed over an orange hat in his lap. The room, though minimally decorated, contains many household objects and subtle details: a broom and a hanging pot in the right corner, two portrait sketches on the wall, including one of Wilfred Laurier, former Prime Minister of Canada, a crucifix and a kettle above the burning fireplace, and two pots with red flowers sit on the left windowsill, where a glimpse of light shines into the room. Huot has created an intimate scene that gives a glimpse into an authentic Quebecois household of the time.
