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Artworks
Marc-Aurèle Suzor-CotéNature Morte aux amandes et aux pommes, 18951869-1937SoldInscriptions
signed and dated, ‘SUZOR-COTE / 95’ (lower right)Provenance
P. LaBranche, Québec, 1967
Walter Klinkhoff Gallery, Montreal, 1977
Private collection, Toronto, November 1977Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc., Montreal
Private collection, MontrealGalerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc., Montreal
Property of a Distinguished Montreal Collector, 2007
Exhibitions
Montreal, Art Association of Montreal, Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, from 12 March 1896, exhibited as Noix, cat. no. 26.
Toronto, Art Gallery of Ontario, Collector’s Canada, 14 May - 10 July 1988, cat no. 38, as Almonds and Apples
Montreal, Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc., Important Canadian Art, 11-24 November 2007.
Literature
Dennis Reid, Collector’s Canada: Selections from a Toronto Private Collection (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1988), titled Almonds and Apples, 46 [reproduced].
Hugues de Jouvancourt, Suzor-Coté (Montreal: Éditions de la Frégate, 1967), titled Almonds and Apples, 104 [reproduced].
Noix (Nature Morte aux amandes et aux pommes), 1895
After studying over three years in France, Suzor-Coté returned to Quebec in June 1894 and set out to make a name for himself in the local art scene. He rented a studio in Montreal and opened another in his hometown of Arthabaska. He took part in public exhibitions organized by the Art Association of Montreal, where he exhibited landscapes, genre scenes and still lifes to showcase the range of his talent. As one critic remarked: “To analyze his work, piece by piece, is almost impossible, as it’s so complex; one would have to embrace every genre, since it embraces them all ”[translation] [1]
At the Royal Academy of Arts exhibition held in Montreal in March 1896, Suzor-Coté exhibited a painting entitled Noix, which was surely this decorative work and likely to catch the eye of art enthusiasts given its size. Critics took notice of the 25-year-old artist who wanted to establish himself on the Canadian scene. A journalist from the Montreal Daily Witness wrote on March 14: “Marc-Aurèle Suzor-Coté has three small canvases, all of real merit. […] Noix is very realistically painted. The latter depicts nuts and fruit on a table.” [2] The Toronto Saturday Night agreed, reporting on March 28, 1896: “The work of Mr. Marc-Aurèle Coté is full of promise. His still-life study of Noix is excellent in its fidelity.” [3]
In Noix, green and red apples, raisins and pitted almonds are arranged on a plate on a table. An overturned bag provides a bright element against the dark background, while the nutcracker creates a diagonal line at the bottom of the composition. Different shades of brown, ranging from light to dark, are used to express the bag, nuts, table, raisins, and background. They are highlighted by splashes of red, green and grey that balance out the overall effect of the fruit and objects.
The painting not only pleases the eye but also engages the senses of taste, touch, and hearing—the viewer can almost hear the nuts cracking. It heightens the viewer’s senses with its highly tactile quality. In this allegorical tribute to autumn, Suzor-Coté celebrates the fruits of the earth that continue to nourish after the harvest. In addition to painting still lifes of birds, the artist created similarly lush and captivating fruit and flower works around the same time.
His work’s realism and fidelity to nature—highlighted by critics of the time—are qualities that are highly sought after by Canadian collectors. Several artists, including Suzor-Coté’s contemporary, Ozias Leduc (1864–1955), also used the trompe-l’œil technique in their work, which earned them great success. This technique was seen as a sign of technical mastery and an example of the artist’s ability to depict the diversity and richness of reality.
Laurier Lacroix
Laurier Lacroix C.M. is professor emeritus at Université du Québec à Montréal, where he taught art history and museology. Among his achievements are exhibitions devoted to Ozias Leduc and Suzor-Coté, as well as Painting in Montreal, 1915–1930, Les arts en Nouvelle-France, Le fonds de tableaux Desjardins, L’atelier comme création. Histoires des ateliers d’artistes au Québec and Becoming Montreal, The 1800s Painted by Duncan. He is also interested in contemporary art and has curated works by Irene F. Whittome, Marc Garneau, Pierre Dorion, Guy Pellerin, Robert Wolfe, Micheline Beauchemin and Lisette Lemieux, among others. Lacroix was the recipient of the Career Award of the Société des musées québécois and the Prix Gérard-Morisset. He is a member of the Société des Dix and the Académie des lettres du Québec
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Footnotes:
[1] F. J. L., "Suzor Coté: L’exposition de ses œuvres chez Scott," Le Canada, December 20, 1907, 5.
[2] "Among the Paintings: Some of New Canvases Hanging in the Art Gallery,"The Montreal Daily Witness, March 14, 1896, 10.
[3] Lynn C. Doyle, “Art,” The Toronto Saturday Night, March 28, 1896, vol. 9, no. 19, 9.
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