Marc-Aurèle Fortin (March 14, 1888 – March 2, 1970) was a Québécois painter.

Career

Marc-Aurèle Fortin was born in 1888 in Ste-Rose, Quebec, son of

Thomas Fortin Thomas Fortin (December 15, 1853 – March 31, 1933) was a lawyer, judge, educator and political figure in Quebec, Canada. He represented Laval in the House of Commons of Canada from 1896 to 1901 as a Liberal. He was born in St-François-d ...

. He studied in Montreal under Ludger Larose and

Edmond Dyonnet Edmond Dyonnet was a painter and photographer, born French and a naturalised Canadian. He taught numerous students in Quebec province and was an academician and secretary of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (1910-1947), author of a history of t ...

, then under Edward J. Timmons at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

. Upon his return to Montreal in 1914, Fortin held various jobs and painted in his spare time. It was in 1920, after a short trip to England and France, that he began to seriously paint and exhibit his works. He was known for painting landscapes of the

St. Lawrence Valley The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

, which he travelled around by bicycle. Fortin appreciated Quebec history, the life of the rural villages (as did Jean Paul Lemieux) and landscape, saying "Just like the French, we must excel in landscape". He was part of the first Atelier art school exhibition at Henry Morgan Galleries in Montreal in April 1932 together with Atelier co-founders

John Goodwin Lyman John Goodwin Lyman (September 29, 1886 – May 26, 1967) was an American-born Canadian modernist painter active largely in Montreal, Quebec. In the 1930s he did much to promote modern art in Canada, founding the Contemporary Art Society in 1939. ...

and André Biéler.

Edwin Holgate Edwin Headley Holgate (August 19, 1892 – May 21, 1977), was a Canadian artist, painter, muralist, and wood-cut artist. Holgate played a major role in Montreal's art community, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, where he both studied and t ...

also was in the show. His first solo show was at the

Art Association of Montreal The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA; french: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, MBAM) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square ...

in 1933. In 1935, after an inspirational trip to France, he began to apply pure colour onto a black surface which initiated his so-called 'black period' based on an Oriental carpet he saw with a black background. In his later years, he participated in numerous international exhibitions and held solo exhibitions at the Musée du Québec (1944), in Almelo, Netherlands (1948), the

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA; french: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, MBAM) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square ...

(1954), and at the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...

(1963). His work was shown in Montreal in the Galerie

L'Art français Valentin Gallery is an art gallery in Quebec. Created in 1934, it was first called "L'Art français" and had its start on Laurier Street in Montreal. Owners Lucienne (1900-1992) and Louis (1890-1956) Lange initially showed works by French arti ...

from about 1945 and in the Walter Klinkhoff Gallery. Today, it is shown in the Alan Klinkhoff Gallery. Fortin won the Jessie Dow prize from the Art Association of Montreal (1938), a bronze medal at the New York World's Fair (1939), and was an Associate of the

Royal Canadian Academy The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

. He died in 1970. Canada Post stamp
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Recognition

On 22 May 1981 Canada Post issued 'Marc-Aurèle Fortin' designed by Pierre Fontaine in the Canadian Art series. The stamps are based on a painting ''À la Baie Saint-Paul'' (1937), by Marc-Aurèle Fortin in the

Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec ( en, National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec), abbreviated as MNBAQ, is an art museum in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The museum is situated in Battlefield Park and is a complex consisting of four bui ...

, Québec, Quebec. The 17¢ stamps are perforated 12.5 mm and were printed by Ashton-Potter Limited The electoral district Marc-Aurèle-Fortin is named in his honour. He was designated a National Historic Person by the federal

environment minister An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of an ...

, on advice of the National Historic Sites and Monuments Board. A street is named in his honour in

Saint-Charles-Borromée Saint-Charles-Borromée, Quebec ( 2021 Population 15,285) is a city in southwest-central Quebec, Canada, on the l'Assomption River. In Joliette Regional County Municipality, Saint-Charles-Borromée has the Maison Antoine-Lacombe, a heritage hom ...

as well as in Sainte-Rose, Québec. A film was made of his life titled ''Marc-Aurèle Fortin, 1888-1970'' by Nanouk Films Ltée, distributed by Cinéma Libre, c. 1983.

Exhibitions since the 1970s

*''Dimanche à l'Ile Sainte-Hélène'', Musée du Québec, exhibition not dated *''Collections d'Artistes'', Place des Arts, Montreal, 1979 *''Les Esthétiques modernes au Québec 1916-1946'',

, 1982 *Musée Marc-Aurèle Fortin, Exhibition, 1984 *Marc-Aurèle Fortin Retrospective Exhibition, Galerie Walter Klinkhoff, September 2006 *''Marc- Aurèle Fortin: The Experience of Colour''.

Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec ( en, National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec), abbreviated as MNBAQ, is an art museum in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The museum is situated in Battlefield Park and is a complex consisting of four bui ...

, 2011

Legacy

In 2007, the Musée d`Marc-Aurèle Fortin donated its entire collection to the

References

External links

Marc-Aurèle Fortin
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...