L'Assemblée des six-comtés (painting)
Encyclopedia
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
executed on canvas
Canvas
Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other items for which sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used by artists as a painting surface, typically stretched across a wooden frame...
by Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
artist Charles Alexander Smith
Charles Alexander Smith
Charles Alexander Smith was a Canadian painter from Ontario.- See also :*Assemblée des six-comtés *List of Canadian painters*List of Canadian artists-External links:* at artnet...
in 1890.
It depicts the Assembly of the Six Counties
Assembly of the Six Counties
The Assembly of the Six Counties was an assembly of Patriote leaders and approximately 6,000 followers held in Saint-Charles, Lower Canada on October 23 and October 24, 1837, despite the June 15 Proclamation of the government forbidding public assemblies.Presided by Wolfred Nelson, it is the most...
, an event in 1837, part of the history of Quebec
History of Quebec
Quebec has played a special role in Canadian history; it is the site where French settlers founded the colony of Canada in the 17th and 18th centuries.-Paleoindian Era :...
and the Patriote movement
Patriote movement
The Patriote movement was a political movement that existed in Lower Canada from the turning of the 19th century to the Patriote Rebellion of 1837 and 1838 and the subsequent Act of Union of 1840. It was politically embodied by the Parti patriote at the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada...
. It is displayed in the permanent exhibition of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec
Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec
The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec is a museum in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada gathering approximately 25,000 works essentially produced in Quebec, or by Quebec artists, some of which dating from the 18th century. It also houses a library since 1987...
in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
.
Composition
The picture includes many elements of what is known about the Patriote movement and their time. It features a number of Patriote leaders, upon the stage at the right, with accurate appearance. Patriote leader Louis-Joseph PapineauLouis-Joseph Papineau
Louis-Joseph Papineau , born in Montreal, Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the seigneurie de la Petite-Nation. He was the leader of the reformist Patriote movement before the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837–1838. His father was Joseph Papineau, also a famous politician in Quebec...
is shown in a speech to the crowd. At the bottom right stand three flags. From the left, the first
Flag of France
The national flag of France is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured royal blue , white, and red...
represents the influence the Patriotes received from the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, the second is the Patriote flag
Patriote flag
The Patriote flag was used by the Patriote movement in Lower Canada between 1832 and 1838. It is similar to the civil flag of the German bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia....
and the third
Flag of the United States
The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...
embodies the admiration of the Patriote for the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. The Patriote flag remains a visual leitmotiv across the composition.
The right field profusely displays maple leaves, a symbol of the French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
s of the time (they have now been discarded by their modern-day Québécois
French-speaking Quebecer
French-speaking Quebecers are francophone residents of the Canadian province of Quebec....
and Quebec nationalist
Quebec nationalism
Quebec nationalism is a nationalist movement in the Canadian province of Quebec .-1534–1774:Canada was first a french colony. Jacques Cartier claimed it for France in 1534, and permanent French settlement began in 1608. It was part of New France, which constituted all French colonies in North America...
successors because of their appropriation by the Canadian federation
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
). In the same section is the Coat of arms of Quebec
Coat of arms of Quebec
The coat of arms of Quebec was adopted by order-in-council of the Quebec government on 9 December 1939, replacing the arms assigned by royal warrant of Queen Victoria on 26 May 1868.The shield is divided into three horizontal fields:...
, leaning upon the wooden stage structure (one anachronistic
Anachronism
An anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
detail, as this version, contemporary to the painting's execution, is the first arms of Quebec post-Confederation, granted in 1868).
The crowd, mesmerized and invigorated at the same time by Papineau's much celebrated oratory skills, holds many signs reading nationalist and independence slogans. Many in attendance wear the tuque
Tuque
A – variously known as a knit hat or stocking cap among other names – is a knitted cap, originally of wool though now often of synthetic fibers, that is designed to provide warmth in winter...
s and ceintures fléchées
Ceinture fléchée
The ceinture fléchée is a type of colorful sash, a traditional piece of French-Canadian clothing of the 19th century...
belts characteristic of the Patriote symbology
Symbology
Symbology concerns the study of symbols.Symbology may also refer to:-Academics:* Semiotics, study of signs and symbols* Iconography, branch of art history which studies images...
. The Colonne de la liberté
Colonne de la liberté (Quebec)
The Colonne de la liberté was a symbol of the Patriote movement erected in Saint-Charles, Lower Canada on October 23, 1937. Its name is identical to the column that marked the history of the French Revolution...
stands tall in the background (the one from Henri Julien
Henri Julien
Henri Julien, baptised Octave-Henri Julien was a French Canadian artist and cartoonist noted for his work for the Canadian Illustrated News....
's illustration and the contemporary replica appear much shorter). Finally, a very young girl at the immediate left-of-the-middle evocatively stares at the spectator.
History
Smith was commissioned to paint it for display in the chamber of the Legislative Assembly in the Parliament of Quebec CityParliament Building (Quebec)
The Parliament Building is an eight-floor building and home to the Parliament of Quebec in Quebec City. The building was designed by architect Eugène-Étienne Taché and was built from 1877 to 1886. With the frontal tower, the building stands at 52 metres or 171 feet in height...
. However, the government of Premier of Quebec
Premier of Quebec
The Premier of Quebec is the first minister of the Canadian province of Quebec. The Premier is the province's head of government and his title is Premier and President of the Executive Council....
Charles-Eugène Boucher de Boucherville did not accept it, and the work was passed unto various owners before finally becoming part of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec collection.
Located in Room 10, it is a part of the permanent exhibition of Quebec history-related art called Je me souviens : Quand l’art imagine l’histoire ("Je me souviens
Je me souviens
Je me souviens is the official motto of Quebec, a province of Canada. The motto means "I remember".- Origins :In 1883, Eugène-Étienne Taché, Assistant Commissioner for Crown lands in Quebec and architect of the provincial Parliament building had the motto carved in stone below the coat of arms of...
[motto of Quebec]. When Art Imagines History"). The picture has seen restoration
Art conservation and restoration
Conservation-restoration, also referred to as conservation, is a profession devoted to the preservation of cultural heritage for the future. Conservation activities include examination, documentation, treatment, and preventive care...
. Nowadays, a great number of books related to the Patriotes, or their era in Quebec, use the painting, often cropped, to illustrate their cover page.
In a similar fashion, initial plans to erect a statue in honour of Louis-Joseph Papineau on the Quebec City Parliament Hill were aborted because of the then-controversial aspect of what was seen as a revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
figure. A smaller statue was instead made for interior display in the Parliament and a monument such as the one originally envisioned was inaugurated in the 2000s.
Subject
The Assembly of the Six Counties gathered Patriote leaders and approximately 6,000 followers in Saint-CharlesSaint-Charles-sur-Richelieu, Quebec
Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu is a municipality in southwestern Quebec, Canada, on the Richelieu River in the Regional County Municipality of La Vallée-du-Richelieu. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 1,742.-Population:Population trend...
, Lower Canada
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
(present-day Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
) on October 23 and October 24, 1837. Presided by Wolfred Nelson
Wolfred Nelson
Wolfred Nelson, was from 1854 to 1856 the mayor of Montreal, Quebec.- Biography :Nelson was born in Montreal the son of William Nelson, an immigrant to Colonial America from Newsham, North Yorkshire, England...
, it is the most famous of the various popular assemblies
Patriote popular assemblies
The Patriote popular assemblies gathered supporters and leaders of the Patriote movement and the Parti patriote in 1837 Lower Canada. The assemblies, concentrated in the Montreal and Montérégie region, saw votes on resolutions and speeches of some of Lower Canada's most reputed orators.- History...
held during that year protesting the Russell Resolutions. It was a prelude to the Lower Canada Rebellion
Lower Canada Rebellion
The Lower Canada Rebellion , commonly referred to as the Patriots' War by Quebeckers, is the name given to the armed conflict between the rebels of Lower Canada and the British colonial power of that province...
of 1837 that sought the independence of a Lower Canadian republic. Speakers were united in their protest of the British colonial government, but, as one part supported economic boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
s of British products, the other appealed to an armed uprising.
See also
- Patriote popular assembliesPatriote popular assembliesThe Patriote popular assemblies gathered supporters and leaders of the Patriote movement and the Parti patriote in 1837 Lower Canada. The assemblies, concentrated in the Montreal and Montérégie region, saw votes on resolutions and speeches of some of Lower Canada's most reputed orators.- History...
- History of QuebecHistory of QuebecQuebec has played a special role in Canadian history; it is the site where French settlers founded the colony of Canada in the 17th and 18th centuries.-Paleoindian Era :...
- Timeline of Quebec historyTimeline of Quebec historyThis article presents a detailed timeline of Quebec history. Events taking place outside Quebec, for example in English Canada, the United States, Britain or France, may be included when they are considered to have had a significant impact on Quebec's history....
- Quebec nationalismQuebec nationalismQuebec nationalism is a nationalist movement in the Canadian province of Quebec .-1534–1774:Canada was first a french colony. Jacques Cartier claimed it for France in 1534, and permanent French settlement began in 1608. It was part of New France, which constituted all French colonies in North America...
- Quebec independence movement
External links
- "Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec - Salle 10" at the Musée national des beaux-arts du QuébecMusée national des beaux-arts du QuébecThe Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec is a museum in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada gathering approximately 25,000 works essentially produced in Quebec, or by Quebec artists, some of which dating from the 18th century. It also houses a library since 1987...
website