Public Art in Quebec City: Tradition Meets Popular Culture

     A realistic, bronze sculpture of Samuel de Champlain is a landmark feature within the walled gates of old Quebec City. The sculpture was created by Paul Chevré in 1898. The figure of Champlain, with plumed hat and cloak in hand, is poised in mid-stride on a high marble pedestal near the famous Frontenac Hotel.  Champlain was a French explorer who, along with thirty-two colonists, is acclaimed as a founder of Quebec City.

     Located near Place Royal, a standing figure of Champlain is also included in an exterior wall fresco that is painted in a tromp l’oeil technique (fool-the-eye-realism).  Representations of historical figures are juxtaposed on the same two-dimensional surface as depictions of contemporary figures who are engaged in the activities of everyday life. Viewers who stand next to the mural merge with the illusionistic scene. The cobblestone road under the archway in the fresco appears to lead to a horse-drawn carriage, and the staircase appears to connect two street levels. 

The mural, completed in 1999, was a collaborative project that included: Hélène Fleury; Marie-Chantal Lachance; Pierre Laforest; plus a collective group of artists from Lyons known as Cité Création.  Additional murals in Quebec City are a testimony to the popularity of this public artform.

     Since 2002, the Québécois celebrate their French ancestry with an annual summer festival that includes a parade of colossal figures referred to as Giants. The figures are built over a wooden armature, and placed on a wheeled platform so they can be easily rolled through the streets. Each of the thirteen Giants have symbolic associations, and new figures may be added. The parade, accompanied by enthusiastic drummers, evokes pride in the cultural heritage of the Quebec community.

References:

French Wall Art in the Quebec City Borough of La Cité. Encyclopedia of French       

     Cultural Heritage in North America. 2007

     http://www.ameriquefrancaise.org/en/article-

     414/Fresco_Wall_Art_in_the_Quebec_City_Borough_of_La_Cité.html 

     (accessed Nov 18)

Mr. Paul Romaine Marie Leonce Chevre. Encyclopedia Titanica 2013

     http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/paul-chevre.html

     (accessed Nov 21, 2013).

Samuel de Champlain. 2000. PBS-Empire of the Bay

     http://www.pbs.org/empireofthebay/profiles/dechamplain.html 

     (accessed Nov 21, 2013).

The Giants. La Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France. 2013. 

     http://www.nouvellefrance.qc.ca/index.php/en/a-bit-of-history/the-giants.html

     (accessed December 2, 2013).