Joseph-Émile Brunet (1893–1977) was a Canadian sculptor based in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

. His output includes more than 200 monuments in

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...

. Many of his sculptures depict national figures and events in Canada. He was born in Huntingdon, Quebec in 1893. He was educated at archbishop school, 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 ...

, and the national superior

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...

of Paris.

Works

Joseph-Émile Brunet sculpted the

bas relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

s and ornamental façade of the Gérard-Morisset building,

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 bu ...

in Quebec City which depict historical scenes and events in Canadian History: "Fishing", "Fur Trading", "Maple Sugar Making", "Farming", "Logging", "Missionaries", "Landing Immigrates", "Buffalo Hunt","

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 ...

"," Death of Wolfe"," Death of Montcalm"," William Dollard", " Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye" and "The First Settlers". File:Statue_Laurier.jpg, Joseph-Émile Brunet's Sir

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime mini ...

, Parliament Hill in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

, Ontario File:Lc johnby.jpg, Joseph-Émile Brunet's

John By Lieutenant-Colonel John By (7 August 1779 – 1 February 1836) was an English military engineer. He is best known for having supervised the construction of the Rideau Canal and for having founded Bytown in the process. It developed and was desi ...

(1971) Major's Hill Park in

, Ontario File:John By statue.jpg, Joseph-Émile Brunet's

(1971) Major's Hill Park in

, Ontario File:Wilfrid Laurier Montreal.JPG, Joseph-Émile Brunet's Sir

(1953) in Square Dorchester

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, Quebec File:Statue Place Frère André.jpg, Joseph-Émile Brunet's Statue du Frère André à la Place du Frère-André,

, Quebec He was granted commissions for granite sculptures of key figures in the province of Quebec's history at the Parliament Building (Quebec): " François de Laval", " Marguerite Bourgeoys", "

Jean-Jacques Olier Jean-Jacques Olier, S.S. (20 September 1608 – 2 April 1657) was a French Catholic priest and the founder of the Sulpicians. He also helped to establish the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal, which organized the settlement of a new town ...

" and " Marie de l’Incarnation" completing the façade by 1965. He was also granted commission for two large bronze doors depicting animals native to Canada: "The Young Bear" and Cubs," "Canadian

Moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

", "

Otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes we ...

s", " Elk with wolves", "

Polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear spec ...

", "

Beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...

s", American

Bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North A ...

", "Deer" and a "Great white Whale". He sculpted a bronze War Memorial at Longueuil, Quebec (1924) in front of the city hall just across the river from Montreal. He sculpted a statue of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye in Saint Boniface, Manitoba. He sculpted the Canadian Pavilion for the

Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne The ''Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne'' (International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life) was held from 25 May to 25 November 1937 in Paris, France. Both the Palais de Chaillot, housing the M ...

in Paris which included a sculpture of a bison (1937) and panels on the outside of the structure. Paintings and a show inside the Canadian pavilion depicted aspects of Canadian culture. Mr. Joseph-Émile Brunet designed twenty-four capitals (1948) for the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, which depict 52 religious subjects reflecting the life of Jesus. Joseph-Émile Brunet sculpted 14 "

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

" lining the walls of the cathedral. Stone statues of

Saint Anne According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...

and Saints at the entrance of the cathedral. Joseph-Émile Brunet created the fountain in front of the Basilica and the stone high sculptures in niches as you enter the basilica, " Marie de L’Incarnation", "

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

", "The Virgin with Jesus", " François de Laval", and "St.

Joachim Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom Yahweh has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Biblical apocryph ...

". Joseph-Émile Brunet also sculpted

Kateri Tekakwitha Kateri Tekakwitha ( in Mohawk), given the name Tekakwitha, baptized as Catherine and informally known as Lily of the Mohawks (1656 – April 17, 1680), is a Catholic saint and virgin who was an Algonquin– Mohawk. Born in the Mohawk village ...

in bronze, high. File:Ste-Anne-Beaupre-Bas-relief.jpg, Joseph-Émile Brunet's bas relief Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré File:Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre - Basilique ext 02.jpg, Joseph-Émile Brunet's Kateri Tekakwitha" Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré File:St Anne du Beaupre 2.jpg, Joseph-Émile Brunet's "Mary and Jesus" Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré He sculpted a bust of Adélard Godbout which was installed in

, Quebec. After his death in 1977, he was entombed at the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery in Montreal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunet, Joseph-Emile 1893 births 1977 deaths Modern sculptors People from Montérégie 20th-century Canadian sculptors Canadian male sculptors 20th-century Canadian male artists School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni École des Beaux-Arts alumni Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery