Katerina Atanassova

This hefty coffee-table book is designed to accompany the exhibit “Canada and Impressionism” that was touring Europe for most of 2020, coming home to the National Gallery of Canada for the fall of 2020 and the winter of 2021. This art is precisely in my wheelhouse, at least partly because Clarence Gagnon, an artist in this genre, is a favourite of my mum’s. There are several prints by him and by others in a similar vein (Maurice Cullen, Marc-Aurèle Fortin, J.W. Morrice), and some excellent women artists (Helen McNicoll, H. Mabel May, Frances Jones, Laura Muntz) that I was glad to discover through this book.

Of the essays in this collection, Adam Gopnik’s prologue was my favourite: he talks particularly about Maurice Cullen’s ability to render the light from a house on a Montréal street in winter in a way that makes him, as a former Montrealer, nostalgic. His was also the most clearly written. The other essays had interesting topics (such the one about women in this period), but most were written in a heavy, academic way. It’s not a book to read on a comfortable couch, let me put it that way.

There is a section at the back with full-page plates of about 80 works of art mentioned in the text, and each essay has a few smaller illustrations, all of which are most ably cross-referenced throughout the book. In addition to the Canadian artists, there are a few paintings by French artists of the period so you can see where the influences and similarities lie. There are only a few portraits or photographs of the artists themselves, but you can probably find those online. I had great fun looking up all of my favourite paintings from the book online and reading more about the artists.

I would recommend this if you can’t get to the exhibition. I will most definitely be attending it once it comes back to the National Gallery.… (més)