The Breviary
Pastel
Marc Aurele de Foy Suzor Cote was a painter, sculptor, and church decorator. He is regarded by many as French Canadas 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.Suzor-Cote showed a talent for drawing from an early age. As a young man, he apprenticed with painter-decorator Joseph-Thomas Rousseau. Together, they created intricate decorations in several churches in and around Arthabaska. Looking to further his art education, Suzor-Cote made his first of many trips to France in 1891. He took lessons in rendering the human form at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and began to sketch the countryside en plein air.
Inspired by French painters like Jean-Francois Millet, Suzor-Cote began to focus on local farmers in paintings such as Return from the Harvest Field, 1903. He began his sculptural work in 1907, where he continued the theme of daily life, as in Caughnawaga Women, 1924. In 1909, he received a commission to paint the portrait of Sir Wilfred Laurier. Suzor-Cote received many awards and distinctions, including the bronze medal at the 1900 Paris World Fair. He was also a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
Provenance
A.B. Fisher Esq. Private Collection, Bobcaygon, Ontario
Illustrated
- The Canadian Magazine, May, 1924, front cover in colour (rep. J.E.H. MacDonald, Designer: An Anthology of Graphic Design, Illustration and Lettering: Robert Stacey, 1996, p. 34)
- The Fine Arts in Canada, MacTavish, 1925, full page colour op. p. 120
Biography courtesy of: National Gallery of Canada