Eggs and Highways

Both Mary Pratt (1935-) and Jack Chambers (1931-78) used photography as a means of capturing an image for the purpose of painting it. Unlike Impressionists who wished to paint light and surfaces as quickly as possible, exposing their brushstrokes in the process, Pratt and Chambers wanted an exacting realism void of any real evidence of their own hand. They wanted to capture the light and its relationship with various objects at a specific moment in time. In order to accomplish this, they used photography. This technology allowed them to capture the shadows and highlights of their intended subject so that they could translate it to the canvas later on at their own pace.

Mary Pratt, Eggs in Egg Crate, 1975
50.5 cm x 60.5 cm

Jack Chambers, 401 Towards London No. 1, 1968
183.0 cm x 244.0 cm

Pratt was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick where she studied with Alex Coleville and Lawren Harris at Mount Allison University. She later moved to Newfoundland with her artist husband Christopher Pratt, and began to paint the objects that immediately surrounded her in home.

While Jack Chambers began his studies in art in London, Ontario, he left to continue his education in Spain in 1953. He returned in 1961 and produced a number of works alongside fellow London native Greg Curnoe. In 1969 Chambers was diagnosed with leukemia. Until his death he began to paint ever more realistic images, such as the one pictured here.

Fire!

In 1682, Quebec City's Lower Town experienced a fire that destroyed 55 of the 56 homes located there.
In 1721, a fire ravaged through Montreal, destroying 138 buildings. 
In between these years, numerous smaller fires (the majority of which were accidental in nature) destroyed homes all along the St. Lawrence River. In 1727, the French Government decided to do something about it. 

Fire at the Ursuline convent, Québec
Painting
Artist unknown, date unknown , Library and Archives Canada, C-117818

In 1727 Claude-Thomas Dupuy, the Intendant of New France, officially issued one of the most comprehensive building codes ever to be given to the French people of the St. Lawrence valley.  Void of any mention of the seemingly larger issues of defence or trade, it dealt very simply and precisely with issues regarding the urban homes of ordinary people living in the main centres of Quebec, Trois Rivieres, and Montreal. This Building Code issued on June 7th, 1727 was a direct response to the increasing threat and instance of fires throughout these urban centres where timber was the preferred material for domestic building.  Timber construction techniques had increased the instances of fire, and were exacerbated by the affordability and availability of wood in the colonies. The common use of colombage and wood-framed mansard-style roofs covered in cedar shingles, paired with densely packed urban spaces, was proving to be a deadly mix.

Dupuy decreed that homes should be two storeys tall and include a cellar, the main floor must be 12 feet high, and that the basement must remain below ground level. The use of wood as a building material within the main structure of the home was outlawed as long as a stone alternative could be used (for example stone lintels).  The issues surrounding the roofs of houses were not left to any individual interpretation, but were also dictated in great detail.  Cedar and wood shingles were forbidden, and slate and tile shingles were to take their place.  Roofs were to form an “equilateral triangle based on the width of the house” and attics were to be floored with terra cotta tiles for added protection. This reinstated the non-tolerance of the mansard style, as well as made it easier to legislate the necessity of ladders on roof slopes for firemen (security) and sweeps (maintenance of chimneys).

Joseph Légaré,
The Fire in the Saint-Jean Quarter, Seen Looking Westward
1848, oil on canvas, 151.1 x 220.3 cm

If we fast forward to the future, however, we can see through the vivid canvas of Joseph Legare, that the French Government could not counter the occurrence of fires forever. In 1848, Quebec City experienced not one, but two fires - the second of which destroyed the entirety of the Saint Jean Quarter. Amid the flames one can see some of the architectural elements imposed on the city by Dupuy: the tall homes, lowered cellars, tall chimneys and stone gables, and of course the triangular roofs. You can see this massive piece in person at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.

Joseph Légaré,
Fire in the Saint-Roch neighbourhood, viewed from Côte-à-Coton looking west , 1845-1848
Oil on canvas, 271.2 x 198.0 cm

Joseph Legare is considered to be Canada's first landscape artist, and is known for his depictions of terrible events such as the 1848 fire, as well as the city's cholera epidemics. Legare was a great supporter of the arts in Lower Canada (Quebec), and after 1845 became a proponent for the creation of a national gallery. You can read more about him at the Canadian Encyclopedia, and the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online.

When "Popular" Wasn't a Good Thing

When Benjamin West's painting The Death of Wolfe was unveiled and put on public display at the Royal Academy in London, England in 1771 it caused quite a stir. Although the viewing public believed that the faces of the men in the painting lacked the expressive quality of extreme happiness (they thought that no matter the cost, the men should have been rapturous over their victory over the French), and they were a bit upset that they could not link this painting to a poem or contemporary literary work (like so many other grand historical paintings), they declared the painting a resounding success. The popularity of the piece helped to cement General Wolfe and his accomplishments into the hearts and minds of the English - an enduring popularity for all those aware of his story.

Academics had a different opinion of the painting. The main issue was that West intentionally dressed Wolfe and his compatriots not in classical Grecian drapery, but in the uniforms that they were most likely wearing while at battle. This lack of acceptable decorum went against the teachings of the Royal Academy, and with regards to grand historical works was up to this point simply unheard of. If it didn't fit in with the Academy, how could they possibly accept it? Additionally, to Academic scholars at the time, only the lowest styles and poorest works were admired by the ignorant public who knew little about true taste and the arts. The fact that the painting was so quickly and widely received only added to the ire of the Academy towards the work.

Benjamin West, 1738-1820
The Death of Wolfe. 1770
Oil on canvas
59 1/2" x 84"

What are your thoughts about the painting?
For readers unaware, or for those wondering why I might be discussing the work of an American painter and a British viewing public - it is the subject matter that makes it supremely Canadian. The victory of General Wolfe over the Marquis de Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham (at Quebec City) in 1759 resulted in the transfer of the colony of New France from French to British control. While the original painting is on display at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, West's workshop did create a number of copies - five in total. The last copy to be made is on display at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.

For more information: Alan McNairn's 1997 Behold The Hero: General Wolfe and the Arts in the Eighteenth Century, National Gallery of Canada - The Death of Wolfe, National Gallery of Art, USA - Biography of Benjamin West, Government of Canada - Battles of 1759 and 1763

Introducing: Robert Field (1794-1819)

Robert Field was an English painter who trained at the Royal Academy before immigrating to the United States in 1794. While in the U.S., he completed a number of miniatures, although relatively few large oil portraits. Gaining commissions for larger portrait works in the U.S. at this time was difficult as competition amongst artists was fierce, and clients would often seek the work of well established and celebrated hands. It is likely that this competitive environment encouraged Field to move elsewhere, and in May 1808 he relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Portrait miniature of George Washington by Robert Field

Portrait of John Maxwell Nesbitt, c. 1796 by Robert Field

Once established in the coastal garrison town, Field experienced a boom in commissions. In his eight years in Halifax, he painted over fifty oil portraits for those belonging to the administrative and military elite - an elite hungry for validation of their posts and perceived importance within their society, and within the Empire: "The ruling class of government officials, merchants, and military officers had constructed an aristocratic lifestyle by emulating English manners, material taste and even entertainments. The arrival of a pedigreed portrait painter who could give visual testament to the real (or imagined) power was but another step towards cultural legitimacy". (Sandra Paikowsky, 1978)

Lieutenant Provo William Parry Wallis, R.N., 1813 by Robert Field

Sir George Provost, 1808-1816, by Robert Field

Concentrating on individual portraits, it was only a matter of time before Field exhausted his available market (he actually ran out of officials to paint!), and eventually the commissions stalled, forcing his once again to move elsewhere in the Empire. His voyage to Kingston, Jamaica, however; did not prove to be as fruitful, and he died soon after his arrival there in 1819.

Read more about Robert Field: Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online, Sandra Paikowsky's Robert Field, 1769-1819, 1978.