Self Portrait by Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté

Provenance:
Estate of the Artist
David Molson, Montreal
Mr. Farmer
Eugenie Farmer
Acquired by the present Private Collection, February 1999

Exhibited:
“Rétrospective Suzor-Coté”, Galerie l’art vivant, Montreal, 2-31 December 1964, no. 7
“Suzor-Coté Retour à Arthabaska”, Musée Laurier, Arthabaska, Québec, 31 May-27 September 1987, no. 2
“Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté, Retrospective Exhibition”, Galerie Walter Klinkhoff, Montreal, 13-27 October 2018, no. 1

Literature:
Hugues de Jouvancourt, “Suzor-Coté”, Montreal, 1978, reproduced on the frontispiece
Laurier Lacroix, “Suzor-Coté Retour à Arthabaska”, Arthabaska, Québec, 1987, no. 2, reproduced

Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté was a painter, sculptor, and church decorator, often considered to be French Canada’s most versatile artist. Known for his landscapes of the thawing winter rivers of Arthabaska, his topics also include genre, history, portraits, and the female nude. Born in the village of Arthabaska, Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté came from an affluent family. In 1891, he moved to Paris for three years to study fine art at the École de beaux-arts. His art was included in the Paris Salon of 1894. He returned to North America briefly, pursuing commission work, before returning to Europe for an extended period between 1897 and 1907. He had an early interest in landscape painting, however, his academic training held strong and he continued to paint historical pictures until 1902. Suzor-Coté was a very versatile artist and upon returning to Canada in 1907, he began to produce his richly textured style inspired by the Impressionist work he saw in Paris. The artist’s reputation was well established by the time he returned to Montreal.

This rare self-portrait dates to 1891, the same year that the young artist first left Arthabaska for Paris. The oil on canvas depicts Suzor-Coté in detail in a formal setting; the dark colour palette is accented with the sitter’s red boutonnière. “Self-Portrait” demonstrates a strong handling of the medium, with areas of light and shadow on the face as well as the subtle variations in the skin tone and hair.

Suzor-Coté would go on to have a successful career as a portrait artist, both in oil painting, pastel and bronze. Inspired by French Realist artists such as Jean-François Millet, Suzor-Coté focused on portraying the Québecois peasants in their daily life through portraits and genre scenes. He took it upon himself to celebrate and perpetuate the memory of this ‘humble hero,’ together with other Quebecois artists including Horatio Walker, Alfred Laliberté, and Clarence Gagnon. In the early 1900s, Suzor- Coté received many commissions to paint portraits of members of the social elite, as well as one of Sir Wilfrid Laurier in 1909. In these works he enlivened the poses and portrayed a more official character to his sitters. Yet the artist always preferred to paint more unassuming individuals.