Napoléon Bourassa (; October 21, 1827 – August 27, 1916) was a prominent

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

architect, painter and writer whose offices were located in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Early life and training

Born in

L'Acadie, Quebec L'Acadie () is a List of former municipalities in Quebec, former municipality in the Montérégie region of Quebec, Canada, on the west side of the Richelieu River, across from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. It was about 30 miles (50 km) ...

, he studied at Sulpician College in Montreal. In 1848, he interned with

Norbert Dumas Norbert Dumas (October 22, 1812 – April 19, 1869) was a lawyer and political figure in Canada East. He represented Leinster in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1848 to 1851. He was born in Terrebonne, the son of Antoin ...

in preparation for a legal career, but then chose to become a painter and studied with

Theophile Hamel Theophilus is a male given name with a range of alternative spellings. Its origin is the Greek word Θεόφιλος from θεός (''theós'', "God") and φιλία (''philía'', "love or affection") can be translated as "Love of God" or "Friend ...

from 1850 to 1852. He continued his education by visiting Paris, Rome and Florence accompanied by the German painter

Johann Friedrich Overbeck Johann Friedrich Overbeck (3 July 1789 – 12 November 1869) was a German painter and a founder of the Nazarene art movement. Early life and education Overbeck was born in Lübeck in 1789. His family had been Protestant pastors for three genera ...

, a member of the

Nazarene movement The epithet Nazarene was adopted by a group of early 19th-century German Romantic painters who aimed to revive spirituality in art. The name Nazarene came from a term of derision used against them for their affectation of a biblical manner of c ...

. After this he established his art studio in Montebello.

Practice

Bourassa founded and directed the

Canadian Journal The Royal Canadian Institute for Science (RCIScience), known also as the Royal Canadian Institute, is a Canadian nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting the public with Canadian science. History The organization was formed in Toronto as t ...

and became vice-president of the

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (, ) is an institution in the Canadian province of Quebec dedicated to the protection of Quebec francophone interests and to the promotion of Quebec sovereignism. It is known as the oldest patriotic association in ...

. He resided on 430 Rue Bonsecours Montreal. Bourassa had several associates who became famous, including

Louis-Philippe Hébert Louis-Philippe Hébert (; 27 January 1850 – 13 June 1917) was a Canadian sculptor. He is considered one of the best sculptors of his generation. Career Hébert was the son of Théophile Hébert, a farmer, and Julie Bourgeois of Ste-Sophie d ...

, François-Édouard Meloche and

Olindo Gratton Olindo is a given name. Notable people with the given name include: * Olindo Guerrini (1845-1916), Italian poet * Olindo Iacobelli (born 1945), Italian racing driver *Olindo Koolman (born 1942), Aruban politician *Olindo Mare Olindo Franco Mar ...

. He also sculpted the bust of his father-in-law

Louis-Joseph Papineau Louis-Joseph Papineau (; October 7, 1786 – September 23, 1871), born in Montreal, Province of Quebec (1763–1791), Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the ''seigneurie de la Petite-Nation''. He was the leader of the reform ...

. He designed the "Chapelle Notre-Dame de Lourdes de Montréal" and the "Institut Nazareth et Louis Braille". One of his most familiar paintings is ''The Apotheosis of Christopher Columbus''. In 1877, he was a member of a commission of inquiry of the government of Quebec and went to France to study the organization, the functioning and the teaching methods of the schools of arts and crafts and the schools of drawing applied to industry, architecture and mechanics. In 1880, he founded the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...

with his fellow artists. He consulted in 1883 for the construction of a building to house the

Legislative Assembly of Quebec A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the authority, legal authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with th ...

. He died August 27, 1916, in Lachenaie. His daughter Adine published his correspondence in 1929. The "Fund-Napoleon Bourassa" was created in his honor at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

. His works were exhibited at 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 artis ...

Family

Napoléon Bourassa was married to Azélie Papineau, the daughter of the Quebec politician

. One of their sons was

Henri Bourassa Joseph-Napoléon-Henri Bourassa (; September 1, 1868 – August 31, 1952) was a French Canadian political leader and publisher. In 1899, Bourassa was outspoken against the Government of the United Kingdom, British government's request for Cana ...

, a journalist and the founder of the newspaper ''

Le Devoir (, ) is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. is one of few independent large-circulation newspapers in Quebec ...

''.

Works include

* Dominican convent of Saint-Hyacinthe * Chapel of the Ladies of Sacred Heart * Chapelle Notre Dame de Lourdes de Montréal * Chapelle du Manoir Louis-Joseph Papineau * Church of

Montebello, Quebec Montebello () is a Municipality (Quebec), municipality located in the Papineau Regional County Municipality of Western Quebec, Canada. At the 2021 census, there were 934 permanent residents. The village has a total area of , and is located at the ...

* St. Anne Shrine (Fall River, Massachusetts)https://www.st-annes-shrine.org/ St. Anne Shrine, Fall River * Church of Saint-Hugues * Church of Saint-Ours * Renovation of the Saint Hyacinthe the Confessor Cathedral of

Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec Saint-Hyacinthe ( , ) is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 57,239. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérégie r ...

Honours

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts 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 Victoria of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria on 16 ...

References

External links

Historic Places of Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bourassa, Napoleon 1827 births 1916 deaths Canadian ecclesiastical architects Architects of Roman Catholic churches Architects from Quebec Museum founders People from Montérégie Architects of cathedrals 19th-century Canadian philanthropists