- 153
Cornelius David Krieghoff 1815 - 1872
Description
- Cornelius David Krieghoff
- Crossing the St. Lawrence
- signed, dated 1862 and inscribed Quebec lower left; titled on the reverse; sold together with Cornelius Krieghoff by Hugues de Jouvancourt, a limited edition book
- oil on canvas
- 23.5 by 33.5 cm.
- 9¼ by 13¼ in.
Provenance
Galerie Claude Lafitte, Montréal
Private Collection, Montreal
Literature
Catalogue Note
Of all the itinerant artists who came to the New World, Krieghoff is the one who stands out as the first to study and record the people, homes, customs, and activities of the French habitant. Although his was often an exaggerated depiction of drunken parties and off-beat characters, and although he painted numerous almost identical works as souvenirs for tourists and visiting soldiers, nevertheless he did register, accurately, many of the communal activities of the French society in a way that has been recognized as a valuable legacy for social history.
One such record is Krieghoff's several paintings of the Royal Mail crossing the St. Lawrence River in winter. A hazardous and difficult task, which is still done today as a race rather than a service, this activity is captured by Krieghoff with conspicuous attention to detail. He sets the scale of the river's breadth, the dangerous aspects of the ice, and the apparent fragility of the small boat that has to make the traverse.
As a painting, this one is quite different from the others of this subject. In this fine canvas, Krieghoff stands back and takes in more of the river, the headland, and the sky. It is a handsome canvas, and was one of the first to be reproduced in the accompanying book by Hugues de Jouvancourt.