Théophile-Abraham Hamel (8 November 1817 – 23 December 1870) was a Canadian artist who painted mainly portraits and religious images in 19th-century Quebec.

Life

Hamel was born in 1817 in Sainte-Foy (then a suburb of

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

), the son of a successful farmer. Hamel's paternal ancestry can be traced to French immigrant Jean Hamel, who arrived in

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...

from

Avremesnil Avremesnil () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A farming village in the valley of the Saâne river, in the Pays de Caux, situated some southwest of Dieppe, at the junction of the ...

(

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

) in 1656. In 1834 Théophile was already taking art lessons from

Antoine Plamondon Antoine-Sébastien Plamondon ( – 1895) was an artist in Quebec, who painted mainly portraits and religious images, the latter commissioned primarily by churches in and around Quebec City. As a young man, he had traveled to France and studied ...

. For a while he attended the

Accademia di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca (the "Academy of Saint Luke") is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its fir ...

, in Rome. He was very much interested in the works of the

Romantics Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

Career

His early portraits show a mixture of European romanticism and Canadian simplicity. His style gradually changed to match the taste of his clients for simple, honest, even prim portraits. In 1838 he painted 'Three Indian Chiefs Leading a Delegation to Quebec. In 1843, Hamel travelled to Europe (London, Naples, Rome, Florence, Bologna, Venice, and then north to France and Belgium). In 1846 he returned to Canada to Quebec. Throughout his career he travelled throughout

Canada East Canada East (french: links=no, Canada-Est) was the northeastern portion of the United Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new ...

and

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

, painting portraits of such notables as Sir

John Beverley Robinson John Beverley Robinson (February 21, 1821 – June 19, 1896) was a Canadian politician, lawyer and businessman. He was mayor of Toronto and a provincial and federal member of parliament. He was the fifth Lieutenant Governor of Ontario between ...

Denis-Benjamin Viger Denis-Benjamin Viger (; August 19, 1774 – February 13, 1861) was a 19th-century politician, lawyer, businessman in Lower Canada. He was a leader in the ''Patriote'' movement. Viger was part of the militia in the early 19th century and th ...

, Sir

Allan MacNab Sir Allan Napier MacNab, 1st Baronet (19 February 1798 – 8 August 1862) was a Canadian political leader who served as joint Premier of the Province of Canada from 1854 to 1856. Early life He was born in Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) to All ...

Louis-Joseph Papineau Louis-Joseph Papineau (October 7, 1786 – September 23, 1871), born in Montreal, Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the ''seigneurie de la Petite-Nation''. He was the leader of the reformist Patriote movement before the Lower ...

John Sandfield Macdonald John Sandfield Macdonald, (December 12, 1812 – June 1, 1872) was the joint premier of the Province of Canada from 1862 to 1864. He was also the first premier of Ontario from 1867 to 1871, one of the four founding provinces created at Conf ...

, and Sir

Étienne Taché Étienne, a French analog of Stephen or Steven, is a masculine given name. An archaic variant of the name, prevalent up to the mid-17th century, is Estienne. Étienne, Etienne, Ettiene or Ettienne may refer to: People Scientists and inventors ...

. He worked quickly, often completing a portrait in a single day. Hamel also painted religious pictures for various commissions, and a series of "imaginative" or "semi-imaginative" portraits of

Jacques Cartier Jacques Cartier ( , also , , ; br, Jakez Karter; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French-Breton maritime explorer for France. Jacques Cartier was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of th ...

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fre ...

Jean Talon Jean Talon, Count d'Orsainville (; January 8, 1626 – November 23, 1694) was a French colonial administrator who served as the first Intendant of New France. Talon was appointed by King Louis XIV and his minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to ...

, Montcalm, and General James Murray. The image of Cartier even appeared on a banknote. It is estimated that Hamel painted more than 2000 portraits during his lifetime. In 1848, he painted portraits of

Robert Baldwin Robert Baldwin (May 12, 1804 – December 9, 1858) was an Upper Canada, Upper Canadian lawyer and politician who with his political partner Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine of Lower Canada, led the first responsible government ministry in the Province ...

and

Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Sir Louis-Hippolyte Ménard '' dit'' La Fontaine, 1st Baronet, KCMG (October 4, 1807 – February 26, 1864) was a Canadian politician who served as the first Premier of the United Province of Canada and the first head of a responsible governmen ...

. In 1850-1, he painted

Egerton Ryerson Adolphus Egerton Ryerson (24 March 1803 – 19 February 1882) was a Canadian educator, author, editor, and Methodist minister who was a prominent contributor to the design of the Canadian public school system. A renowned advocate against Christ ...

. In 1853, he painted 'Madame Renaud and Her Daughters Wilhemine and Emma'. His painting 'L'Abbé Edouard Faucher', painted in 1855, now hangs at Eglise de Saint-Laurent, Lotbiniere. His painting of Sir

, painted in 1853, hangs in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

Family

In 1857, at age of 40, he married Mathilde-Georgiana Faribault, daughter of

George-Barthélemy Faribault George-Barthélemy Faribault (December 3, 1789 – 1866) was a Canadian archaeologist, born in Quebec. Faribault was a first cousin of Jean-Baptiste, father of Alexander, founder of the city of Faribault, Minnesota, United States. After attendi ...

, a pioneer librarian. He died in Quebec City, in December 1870.Hubbard, p. 61.

Gallery

Image:Jacques Cartier 1851-1852.jpg,

Image:Samuel-de-champlain-s.jpg,

File:Hamel Self-Portrait 1837.jpg, Théophile Hamel Self-Portrait 1837 Image:Hamel Self-Portrait 1846.jpg, Théophile Hamel Self-Portrait 1846 Image:Hamel Mgr Joseph Signay.jpg, Mgr

Joseph Signay Joseph Signay, (8 November 1778 – 3 October 1850), was the third archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec. Signay was ordained in 1802 by Bishop Pierre Denaut and began a number of years of parish duties. In 1814, he was appoin ...

Image:Hamel Lecodie Bilodeau.jpg, Lecodie Bilodeau Image:Louis-Joseph Papineau 1878.jpg,

File:Théophile Hamel (1817-1870) Noémie, Eugénie, Antoinette et Séphora Hamel (1854).jpg, Noémie, Eugénie, Antoinette et Séphora Hamel (1854) File:Allan MacNab.jpg,

File:Louis-Jacques Casault.jpg,

Louis-Jacques Casault Louis-Jacques Casault (17 July 1808 – 5 May 1862) was a Canadian priest, academic, superior of the Séminaire de Québec, and rector of Université Laval. Born in Saint-Thomas-de-Montmagny, Lower Canada, the son of Louis Casault and Françoise ...

File:Portrait of Montcalm.JPG,

Louis-Joseph de Montcalm Louis-Joseph de Montcalm-Grozon, Marquis de Montcalm de Saint-Veran (28 February 1712 – 14 September 1759) was a French soldier best known as the commander of the forces in North America during the Seven Years' War (whose North American th ...

(1712-1759) File:Baldwin-sm.jpg,

File:Adolphus Egerton Ryerson.jpg, Adolphus Egerton Ryerson File:Wolfred Nelson.jpg,

Wolfred Nelson Wolfred Nelson (10 July 1791 – 17 June 1863) was the mayor of Montreal, Quebec, from 1854 to 1856. Biography Nelson was born in Montreal. His father, William Nelson, was an immigrant to Colonial America from Newsham, North Yorkshire, En ...

, 1848 File:John kane.jpg, John Kane, 1852 File:DBviger.jpg,

File:Louis-Victor Sicotte.jpg,

Louis-Victor Sicotte Louis-Victor Sicotte, (November 6, 1812 – September 5, 1889) was a lawyer, judge and politician in Lower Canada. He was born Louis Cicot in Boucherville, Lower Canada in 1812. He studied law and was called to the bar in 1839. He helped foun ...

Works

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamel, Theophile 1817 births 1870 deaths 19th-century Canadian painters Canadian male painters Artists from Quebec City Canadian portrait painters People from Sainte-Foy, Quebec City 19th-century Canadian male artists