This is an outstanding painting by Simone-Mary Bouchard, who during her short career was likely the most celebrated of the artists of Charlevoix tradition of folk art. With the curtains framing the scene of a heroic long haired nobleman on horseback suggests a theatrical retelling of the legend of El Cid (Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar), a celebrated figure in Spanish medieval history and literature.

El CID is carrying a horn, alluding to a call to arms or maybe simply a dramatic entrance.

Simone-Mary Bouchard, born in 1912 in Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec, was a self-taught painter and textile artist renowned for her paintings in a style of folk art. 

Simone-Mary’s subject matter included the still life and landscapes of the Charlevoix region. Her paintings have been featured in various exhibitions and numerous collections. She was self-taught and considered the most talented of the 3 Bouchard sisters who were also painters (Edith-Marie and Marie-Cécile are her two sisters who were artists). 

Simone-Mary became a member of the Montreal Contemporary Arts Society and exhibited alongside Paul-Émile Borduas, Alfred Pellan, and Stanley Cosgrove. [1]

In 1945, at the youthful age of 32, Simone-Mary died from a bout of tuberculosis.

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Footnotes: 

[1] Serge Gauthier, “Les peintres populaires de Charlevoix (1930–1960),” Encyclobec, last modified 19 July, 2002, https://encyclobec.ca/region_projet.php?projetid=287 .