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Art history mystery

François-Marc Gagnon publishes volume about New France painter with fragmented legacy.
April 20, 2011
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By Karen Herland


“We are a remarkable department. Not only do we write about works of art that exist, we write about artists who left behind no works of art to analyse.”

François-Marc Gagnon at the official launch of his book Jean Berger, peintre et complice?
François-Marc Gagnon at the official launch of his book Jean Berger, peintre et complice?

With these words, Loren Lerner, Chair of Concordia’s Department of Art History, opened the book launch for François-Marc Gagnon’s Jean Berger, peintre et complice? in the Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian Art on April 18.

Gagnon, who serves as Director and Chair of the Institute, became intrigued with Berger’s life, starting with two pieces of information – Berger was a self-described painter in the New France at the very beginning of the 18th century and had written a “chanson diffamatoire” referring to his song’s subject as a “monstre de la nature.”

It turned out the song had been written about local Montreal apothecary Claude Sainte-Olive, a man who sued Berger in court for assault. Gagnon has spent the last 40 years puzzling out the transcripts of that trial and related documents, revolving around an attack after a night of drinking. His research has led to a rare portrait of the day-to-day life of the different social strata of New France and the conditions in Montreal at that time. Gagnon was awarded the Quebec Government’s 2010 Prix Gérard-Morisset for his significant contributions to the preservation of the province’s cultural heritage.

(From left) Rob Coles, Sandra Paikowsky, Johanne Sloan and Loren Lerner in 18th century costumes surprise François-Marc Gagnon at his book launch on April 18.
(From left) Rob Coles, Sandra Paikowsky, Johanne Sloan and Loren Lerner dressed in 18th century costumes to surprise François-Marc Gagnon at his book launch on April 18. | Photos by Concordia University

“What I learned was not exactly what I had got in school,” laughed Gagnon at the launch. Despite lessons filled with noble tales of saintly do-gooders, he was confronted by evidence of “soldiers with nothing to do except drink. And there were a lot of pubs at the time.”

Gagnon does not pronounce on Berger’s guilt, but does credit Berger’s notoriety for the wealth of documentation left behind, suggesting a more law-abiding citizen might not have left such a rich archive of documents. Gagnon adds that simply puzzling out the court reporter’s personal notations (‘pe’ for ‘paroisse’) was a lengthy process in itself.

The launch was attended by Catherine Wild, the Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts along with faculty, students and staff, many of whom dressed in 18th century costumes. Several of those present had helped with the research at various points during the project - an unlikely subject for an art historian.

Berger identified himself as a painter and references exist to decorative work he did in a church, and on furniture, suggesting he was more of a craftsman or a sign-painter, than a portrait artist. “Most of the commissioned work would have been done in France and shipped over on boats,” concedes Gagnon.

Johanne Sloan, another professor in the department, remarked the series of testimonials presented in the book reveal how the artist was “embedded in a web of social relations.”

The challenge of developing a project on an artist with no art led eight graduate students in the department to propose a future exhibition on “that idea of the productive gaps in history,” according to Nicole Burisch, one of the students involved. The Berger book is the starting point for reflection on how history works around missing spaces or information. “We want to invite contemporary artists to work within those gaps,” says Burisch of the proposal.

Related links:
•  François-Marc Gagnon receives prix Gerard-morisset
•  Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian Art
•  Department of Art History



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