Overlooking the Coast of the St. Lawrence River in Charlevoix (Possibly Port-au-Persil), 1940 (circa)

This luminous watercolour reflects Marc-Aurèle Fortin’s celebrated engagement with the Charlevoix region and the lower St. Lawrence River. He achieves a modern, radiant vision of rural Quebec, balancing structure, atmosphere, and with luminous economy.

From an elevated viewpoint, cultivated fields, fences, and clustered village forms—anchored by a church steeple—lead the eye toward the broad, silvery river beyond. A rounded headland at right, descending directly into the water, provides a distinctive framing element characteristic of the Charlevoix shoreline. While the precise location cannot be identified with certainty, the geography strongly suggests Saint-Siméon or its immediate environs, a site Fortin depicted on several occasions.

Marc-Aurèle Fortin shows how deliberately he works with the natural whiteness of the sheet as a pictorial element. With the same anticipation of a sculptor who chisels away at his marble to uncover his subject, Fortin applies his medium of watercolour to his paper leaving areas bare to “speak” to the subject. 

Note the large areas of the sky left almost untouched. With only light washes applied, the paper becomes the source of the scene’s radiance.

In the middle distance, thin horizontal strokes for water and shore alternate with bare paper, creating a sense of wide, luminous space. The distant hills are laid in with soft washes that still let the surface texture show and keep the forms airy rather than solid.

In the foreground, Fortin outlines rocks, trees and bushes with animated drawing, then drops colour inside the contours while often stopping short of the line. Small gaps of paper make the foliage flicker with light, and the same economy shapes the fence and farm buildings. The subject seems to emerge from the sheet instead of sitting on top of it. 

Marc Aurèle Fortin is among the elite Canadian Artists in his ability to “think” and paint with equal brilliance in both the watercolour and oil. David Milne, Franklin Carmichael and Molly Lamb Bobak shared his understanding of both mediums. Overlooking the Coast of the St. Lawrence River in Charlevoix (Possibly Port-au-Persil) is a particularly fine and collectible composition by Fortin.