Wednesday, January 16, 2019

A Garden And Portraits

Before getting into today's post, if you'd like to get a sense of the sound inside the Convent Chapel, I added a link into yesterday's post from a newspaper page at Youtube that gives you a taste of what the chorus sounds like. And for convenience I'll add it right here as well.

Here we have two more views of the garden courtyard after leaving the chapel.


Back into the first gallery space, I photographed these two altarpieces by the same artist, Francois Baillairge, both dating to 1797. The Virgin and Saint John were originally part of a crucifixion scene at a parish church in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, a village east of Quebec City on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. I have been in the village, a lovely area of the province. The village has a tradition of wood carving artisans. 


In my first post of this series, I mentioned the artist William Berczy. These two portraits are his as well. Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant) depicts the Mohawk chief in an imaginary setting, but with close attention to detail. It was done circa 1807.


John Mackenzie is a circa 1811 portrait by Berczy. 


These two paintings date to 1840, by the artist Robert C. Todd, and are two perspectives of the same place, commissioned by the businessman Allan Gilmour. They share a title: The Timber and Shipbuilding Yards of Allan Gilmour and Company at Wolfe's Cove, Quebec, with the two differentiated by direction- Viewed From The South and Viewed From The West. Gilmour requested a depiction of his operations both on shore and on the water, and Todd gave both. 


The Gallery owns several landscapes by Cornelius Krieghoff. This one I've shown before, and depicts a spot upstream from here on the Ottawa River. The Chaudiere gives us a view of the Chaudiere Falls, different from its present day look. This 1858 painting, which includes the artist at lower left, gives us the falls in a sunset view, and if you're familiar with the topography, you can orient yourself to specific spots, even without the present day dam beyond it.


This 1848 portrait is Etienne Parent, by the artist Theophile Hamel, done after the artist had spent time in Europe.


This wider view gives us the main gallery space in here. Note the coat beyond this display case- you saw it from the other side in the first post. And the items in this display case are silverware, but of a more secular nature than what I showed you in the first post.


Today I finish with a different kind of portrait. The Frank Off George Island, Halifax is an oil painting circa 1856 by John O'Brien. The shipbuilding industry in what are today the Atlantic provinces was flourishing at the time, and it was typical for portraits to be painted of ships. O'Brien specialized in this, giving the vessel a profile look with full sails.

40 comments:

  1. The garden is still my favorite - and certainly the Convent Chapel. It is simply amazing, dramatic with the voices, thank you for sharing.

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  2. A Nation needs to preserve memories of its past...it makes the community.

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  3. This looks like a very modern convent !

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  4. Thanks for adding the sound track - it must add a mystical and ethereal quality to the whole experience of visiting that beautiful chapel.

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  5. Belos quadros e gostei do jardim, aproveito para desejar a continuação de uma boa semana.

    Andarilhar
    Dedais de Francisco e Idalisa
    O prazer dos livros

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  6. ..thanks for the video, talk about 'surround sound!'

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  7. Fantastic paintings.
    Thanks for the YouTube link to the choir. It gives a nice idea, but not more than that, I'm affraid.

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  8. The choir sounds pretty good but the acoustics don't seem to be the best. Perhaps it's the quality of the recording.

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  9. Beautiful portraits. Have a wonderful day!

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  10. Hello William!
    Stunning pictures! The garden is so beautiful!
    Like the portraits and the landscapes paintings!
    Thank you for sharing the video!
    Have a lovely day!
    Dimi...

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  11. It's a fine collection of which I am happy to be reminded.

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  12. That sound was incredible. I can imagine the effect in person!

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  13. @Iris: you're welcome.

    @Italiafinlandia: that is true.

    @Gattina: the garden, I assume? The architecture dates to the 80s. The collection had different quarters before.

    @Rosemary: it does indeed.

    @Francisco: thank you.

    @Tom: you're welcome.

    @Jan: yes, you really do have to be there in person to get the proper experience.

    @David: it can be the device itself, but really, it's more about being there.

    @Nancy: thank you!

    @Dimi: you're welcome.

    @Anvilcloud: thanks!

    @Marie: it's wonderful.

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  14. This is a favourite style of painting, for me. I like portraits, as they tell a lot about people of the time.
    Landscapes, too.

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  15. enjoy the ship painting ... nice!! i have seen a similar garden like this before. i wonder how the plants do will so little light?
    ( ;

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  16. Thanks for the video, and a semblance of the sound effects, which of course is rather drab compared to the experience I'm sure. I enjoyed the art, and knowing how it was made! The artist who included himself below the falls was pretty silly, because his view of the whole scene is from much higher up. In my humble opinion.

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  17. Thanks for the link. That was so beautiful. It's like listening to a chorus who is singing just for you.

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  18. You show that there's lots of good art in Canada done by Canadians.

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  19. @Jennifer: thanks!

    @Beth: the roof above is a glass skylight, so some light does get in. I do wonder if some of these plants are the sort that do well without much sunlight.

    @RedPat: so do I.

    @Barbara: from where he's positioned and my own sense of the grounds around the falls, he would be in a spot that today is not readily accessible. The main viewing areas are over on the rocky outcrop to his left.

    @Sharon: you're welcome!

    @Red: there is indeed.

    @Marleen: so do I.

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  20. I like the paintings, William !

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  21. The garden courtyard is so pretty!

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  22. I wonder how often they have to clean that glass in the middle of the room.

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  23. How nice the garden courtyard is. Enjoyed looking at the paintings.

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  24. @Karl: so do I.

    @Jenn: that it is.

    @Bill: they are!

    @Whisk: I imagine that's probably done each day, either before the building opens or after it closes.

    @Happyone: thanks!

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  25. The courtyard looks so peaceful.

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  26. Absolutely beautiful. I love the courtyard.

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  27. Thank you for sharing the video.
    The courtyard looks so nice and I enjoyed seeing the paintings.

    All the best Jan

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  28. That video turned out very well!

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  29. Thank you for the link to the video.
    I love seeing the wider views of the garden and gallery.

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  30. The courtyard garden is beautiful:)

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  31. Divine courtyard garden ~ so inviting ~ ^_^

    Happy Day to you,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  32. Thanks for adding the music link. It's absolutely spellbinding. I can only imagine what it is like in that beautiful space. Gives me chills just thinking about it. All that and art, too!

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  33. It's interesting different Indigenous people make there items out of. Our local Indingenous people used maple for framing on there canoes.
    Coffee is on

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  34. Composition of garden and corridor looks interesting.

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  35. @Revrunner: indeed.

    @Michelle: definitely.

    @Lois: so do I.

    @Jan: you're welcome.

    @Norma: it did indeed.

    @Kay: you're welcome.

    @Rosie: indeed.

    @Carol: very much so.

    @Jeanie: definitely!

    @Dora: thank you.

    @Klara: I agree.

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