The Importance of Audience

It is always important, when viewing a work, to understand that when it was created it was made to satisfy a particular audience, and was meant to serve a particular purpose. Whether or not you like the painting, or what you personally take away from the painting, is irrelevant if you want to learn more about its historical context. To know and to understand a work for its intended and original meanings, is to appreciate it on a whole new level. I brought up Krieghoff last week, so I'll use him as example here.

Cornelius Krieghoff, The Toll Gate
Oil on Canvas, 1859

A number of Krieghoff's works were strictly intended for an English audience. The lucky Englishman living in Canada could purchase a piece, such as the one shown here, hang it in his home, and along with his family and friends laugh at the hilariously immoral hi-jinx of the backwards and uncivilised French habitant. (In the image we see some habitants breaking through a toll gate; obviously not stopping to pay.) The English family need not bother with the fact that the image is imaginary, for it plays right into how they wish to perceive their French neighbours: bumbling simpletons. Today, knowing this turns the seemingly whimsical aspects of the piece into something a little more sinister. It's no longer a work depicting the everyday life of the friendly and mischievous habitant, it's a work depicting the supposed superiority of one section or class of the community over another.

Antiques Roadshow

This past weekend I was able to catch a bit of a recent episode of Antiques Roadshow. The bit that I caught featured a woman named Susan with a painting by Canadian artist Cornelius Krieghoff. Susan claimed that she had no idea of the worth of the painting, only that it had value as a family heirloom, being passed down three generations. Here's an image of the work:

The piece was appraised at between $200,000 - $350,000 USD. And you can watch the appraisal here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/200901A05.html After Susan found out the estimated worth at auction, she was asked in an exit interview what she would do with the painting when she returned home. Her response was that it would simply "go back up on the wall" in her home, but that now she might appreciate it a bit more. Here's her response in full: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/video/AI_200901A05.html

This episode and the exit interview raise a number of interesting questions. First, with the existence of the internet, how could one not know about Krieghoff and his works, and by extension their relative worth? Second, if you suddenly had a painting potentially worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, would you leave it in your home, or would you sell it? Thirdly, does the fair market value (the price at which a seller is willing to sell and a buyer is willing to buy) make a painting more worthy of appreciation? Feel free to answer these questions with a friend, or here, in the comments section.

If you'd like more information on Krieghoff, you can investigate Wikipedia, The Canadian Encyclopedia Online, The Dictionary of Canadian Biography, and of course Sotheby's for some recent auction prices achieved.

Introducing: Jean-Baptiste Roy-Audy (1778-1848)

Jean-Baptiste Roy-Audy was born in Quebec City, and had trained as a carpenter's apprentice under his father.  Roy-Audy continued the family tradition by opening his own workshop in 1802, practicing woodworking, cabinet making, wheel making, as well as carriage and sign painting.  Trouble with the business by 1816 led to bankruptcy and closure.  It was at this time that Roy-Audy devoted himself purely to painting.  He took on his own apprentice and went into business selling portraits, miniatures, history paintings, and taught classes in drawing.  He was very active in producing a number of religious works for the Church, however; many of his portraits date from 1833-34 when he had moved to Montreal.  Little is known of Roy-Audy after his Montreal period, and his death is speculated to have occurred in 1848.

Jean-Baptiste Roy-Audy, Marie-Francois Blobensky,
c. 1812-1815, oil on canvas

Jean-Baptiste Roy-Audy, Madame Louis Leandre Lemaitre-Auger
1838, oil on canvas, 67 x 56.5 cm

Jean-Baptiste Roy-Audy, Jean-Baptiste-Rene Hertel de Rouville,
c. 1830-1840, oil on canvas, 64.8 x 55.2 cm

Body Language

Robert Harris' Meeting of the School Trustees (1885) is a wonderful piece which showcases his ability to absorb the lessons of Netherlandish painting, and translate them into a purely Canadian context. In the painting a prim, young school teacher speaks to a group of men - each farmers in the community and trustees of the school.  Clearly, she is trying to convince them of something. Her exposed wrist and upturned hand as well as slight lean toward what seems to be the leader of the group lets us also know that her message is an important one. But look at how her message is received. The facial expressions and hand/arm gestures of the men seem to indicate a cold and almost stalwart reception to her entreaties - note the closed fist, crossed arms, but also closed mouths and defiant stares.

Robert Harris, A Meeting of the School Trustees
1885, oil on canvas, 102.2 x 126.5 cm

This painting received a broader recognition within Canadian homes after the Historica-Dominion Institute created a Heritage Minute commercial based on this work, and the history of politics within small rural school houses.  In the 56 second commercial, the postures and attitudes of the trustees comes to life, and the work is infused with an entirely new level of emotion. Watch the video to see if you agree: http://www.histori.ca/minutes/minute.do?id=10183

Pre-Confederation Canadian Portraiture

While at first glance many of the portraits produced before 1867 bear striking similarities to one another, portraiture in pre-Confederation Canada was actually multifaceted, and six types of portraits can be discerned: Official; Professional; Head and Shoulders; Family; Private; and Silhouette. There were many artists in pre-Confederation Canada who were able to make a living from the production of these oil painted portraits.  Each was able to create a niche for themselves thanks in part to their geography, talent, and/or patrons and personal connections.


Official: Were primarily reserved for those in administrative positions (governors, priests, university officials, and the bourgeoisie) and were usually commissioned to commemorate an extraordinary achievement. They would be displayed where the subjects carried out their duties. Dignity, official dress, reference to achievement through an inscription or object, elaborate setting were all required. The formula for this type of portrait was derived from that of royal portraits.

Theophile Hamel, Louis-Joseph Papineau, 1870
Oil on Canvas, 86.4 x 127.4 cm

Professional: Had the same conventions as listed above. Objects continued to play an important role and symbolism is prominent. For public or private display, they reflected self assurance and convinced viewers of the subjects’ credibility and social standing.

Theophile Hamel, The Honourable John Sandfield Macdonald, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, 1852-18541854, Oil on Canvas, 110.3 x 82 cm

Head and Shoulders: Were slightly less formal than Official and Professional portraits, and respectability becomes a dominant value. ¾ view to establish a “sincere” relationship with subject is a renaissance theme. Light on the subject’s face gives contrast to simple backgrounds and may act to create more space between the viewer and the subject. Middle classes favoured these types of portraits. These portraits reveal nothing about how the sitter achieved success, “but simply that they had succeeded and were guaranteed social prestige as a result.” (Mario Beland, 1992)

Antoine Plamondon, Soeur Saint-Alphonse, 1841
Oil on Canvas, 90.6 x 72 cm

Family: Men wanting to affirm self worth displayed their occupation, while women focused on maternal aspects. Motherhood and childhood were new concepts in the society at this time; previously children were simply incomplete adults. There was also high infant mortality which equated to very few paintings of children. Since the end of the anciene regime, the bourgeoisie venerated “family” as a basic component of the whole social structure. Family devotion was shown through children at play with themselves and their mothers. It is rare to find a work with the father included.

William Berczy, The Woolsey Family, 1808
Oil on Canvas

Private: An individual, often male, would be rather romantically depicted within a natural setting. The work, often simple in composition, and small sized (often miniature) would allude the man's desire for harmony between himself and the universe. They would have been for private or family viewing only, and are not common.


Silhouette: Completed primarily by itinerant artists, silhouettes were meant to be decorative, novel, and cheap. Resemblance to the subject and immediate recognition were important. Physiognomy, mechanics, and novelty helped to popularize this portrait type.

Untitled, Unamed Silhouette, 19th century.
Belonging to the collection of Black Creek Pioneer Village, Toronto

For more information, see Mario Béland, et al, Painting in Quebec, 1820-1850, New Views, New Perspectives, Quebec: Musée du Québec, 1992. (Exhibition Catalogue)