Pedimental sculptures in Canada

Last updated
Over-pedimental figure with horses, Maisonneuve Public Bath and Gymnasium, Montreal, 1916, sculptor Arthur Dubord Bain Morgan 05.jpg
Over-pedimental figure with horses, Maisonneuve Public Bath and Gymnasium, Montreal, 1916, sculptor Arthur Dubord

Pedimental sculptures are sculptures within the frame of a pediment on the exterior of a building, some examples of which can be found in Canada. Pedimental sculpture poses special challenges to sculptors: the triangular composition limits the choices for figures or ornament at the ends, and the sculpture must be designed to be viewed both from below and from a distance.

Contents

History

As with the ancient Greeks, and the Roman architects and sculptors who followed them, North American artists had two different structural approaches creating pedimental sculpture. They are either freestanding statues that stand on the bed (the ledge or cornice that creates the bottom of the pediment), or they can be relief sculpture, attached to the back wall of the pediment.[ citation needed ] [1]

Compositionally, the restrictions imposed by both the physical triangular shape of a pediment, and the traditional themes that are usually employed for the subject matter, are, according to Ernest Arthur Gardner, "as exactly regulated as that of a sonnet or a Spenserian stanza: the artist has liberty only in certain directions and must not violate the laws of rhythm". [2]

The Golden Dog

Le Chien d'Or (c.1688), Edifice Louis S. St.-Laurent, Quebec City, in 2020 Le Chien d'or.jpg
Le Chien d'Or (c.1688), Edifice Louis S. St.-Laurent, Quebec City, in 2020

Perhaps the most famous pedimental sculpture in Quebec is Le Chien d'Or (c.1688) in Quebec City. [3] The gray limestone relief panel depicts a dog gnawing a bone, [4] a metaphor for nursing a grudge.

Timothée Roussel (c.1639-1700), a French immigrant and surgeon, was a Quebec City landowner in New France, [4] and Jean Normand was his neighbor. [3] The two bickered over right of passage across Normand's land, and Roussel won in court over Normand in 1682 and 1683. [3] The men eventually came to blows, and wound up in court again in 1686. [3] The court record noted that Normand's son Joseph had killed Roussel's dog. [3]

Two years later, Roussel built a house on Buade Street, and affixed the bas relief panel over his front door. [4] It featured a menacing inscription:
"I am a dog that gnaws his bone / I couch and gnaw it all alone / A time will come, which is not yet / When I'll bite him by whom I'm bit." (Translation by William Kirby, 1877.) [5] :116

Merchant Nicolas Jacquin, dit Philibert [6] bought the house from Roussel's heirs in 1734, and greatly expanded it. [7] The merchant was murdered in 1748. [8] Philibert's house was later converted into a coffeehouse, [7] was the meeting place for Freemasons from 1775 to 1800, [7] and served as the city's post office from 1845 to 1871. [7] The house was demolished for construction of a large Second Empire post office building, completed in 1872. [9] Roussel's panel was mounted high above its side entrance. [7]

Author William Kirby made the relief panel the centerpiece of his 1877 historical novel The Golden Dog . [5] The lead character was Philibert's son, who tracks down his father's killer and avenges the murder. The novel helped to make Le Chien d'Or famous, but also popularized the urban legend that the relief panel was erected as a threat to Philibert's murderer. [3]

The post office building was expanded and remodeled in a Beaux-Arts style in 1913. [9] The then-225-year-old relief was relocated to a more prominent location, a segmental pediment over the building's new entrance porch. [10]

Manitoba Legislative Building

Manitoba Pediment (1921), Manitoba Legislative Building, Winnipeg, Albert Hodge, sculptor Hodge ArchReview vol51 iss302 Jan1922 plate4.jpg
Manitoba Pediment (1921), Manitoba Legislative Building, Winnipeg, Albert Hodge, sculptor

The 1911-1912 British-Empire-wide design competition for the Manitoba Legislative Building in Winnipeg had 67 entrants, and was won by Scottish architect Frank Worthington Simon. [11] He chose Scottish sculptor Albert Hodge to design its sculptured main pediment. [12] Hodge died in 1918 at age 42, three years prior to the building's completion. Piccirilli Brothers of New York City carved Hodge's pedimental figures in limestone. [11]

The pediment group which was modelled by the late Albert Hodge, of London, attracts attention first by its conspicuous situation as well as by its artistic quality. In judging such a group it must be borne in mind that the height above the eye, its peculiar confining frame and the necessities of its composition make it one of the most difficult of sculptural problems. Mr. Hodge, however, has most successfully developed his subject, filling the outer acute angles of the pediment as well as the high apex, the composition being balanced on either side and culminating at the centre. The female figure of Manitoba sits full front in the middle, and to the left there are three distinct groups, connected and related to the central figure by sentiment and gesture. In the corner Enterprise beckons the workers to the Land of Promise. Next there is a finely modelled bull led by Europa typifying the emigration from Europe, and between this group and Manitoba, there are a father, mother and childthe new family in the new world. On the opposite side of the angle are two figures clasping a jar whence issues a stream of water fertilizing the earththe confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers. Next is a group of ploughmen and horses, tilling the soil, balancing the Bull-and-Europa group. Between these and Manitoba is a group of a man and a woman bringing the fruits of the soil, balancing the family group. Thus are expressions and balance complete, scale maintained, and the space well filled.
Mr. Hodge's work is also seen in the two sphinxes, representing Wisdom and Knowledge, placed on either side of the main pediment, and in the group of two figures, personifying, respectively, Peace and War, above the east and west pediments. [11]

Pedimental sculptures

BuildingProvinceLocationImageSculptureSculptorArchitectInstalledMedium / Notes
Alberta Legislature Building Alberta Edmonton; 10800 97 Avenue NW 2010-365-174 Play in the Pool or Pass Laws - (4728844081).jpg central crest incorporating provincial shieldtbdAllan Merrick Jeffers and Richard Blakey1913
2011 Alberta Legislature Building 03.jpg
Alberta Legislative Building:
Bank of Montreal, Calgary branchAlberta Calgary; 8th Avenue and 1st Street SW Bank Montreal calgary.jpg version of the bank's coat of armstbdKenneth Rea [13] 1932Listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places [14]
Merchants' Bank of Canada, Victoria branch British Columbia Victoria; 1225 Douglas Street Merchants Bank of Canada, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada 10.jpg Bank of Montreal coat of armstbd Francis M. Rattenbury, architect [15]

Honeyman & Curtis,
1922 expansion [16]
1907

1922
Merchants Bank of Canada, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada 01.jpg
Built by the Merchants' Bank of Canada in 1907.
Bank of Montreal purchased the building in 1922, and expanded it, adding a pedimental sculpture of the BOM coat of arms.
Listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places [17]
Manitoba Legislative Building [18] Manitoba Winnipeg; 450 Broadway Queen Victoria in front of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly - Winnipeg.jpg enthroned central figure of Manitoba, figures representing the Red River and the Assiniboine River at far right Albert Hodge, sculptor
Piccirilli Brothers (New York City), carvers [19]
Frank Worthington Simon and Septimus Warwick 1920Manitoba Legislative Building:
Parliamentwinnipeg manitoba.jpg

Listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places [20]
Winnipeg Law Courts BuildingManitobaWinnipeg; 391 Broadway Winnipeg Law Courts P1040654.jpg blindfolded Justice with sword and scales, flanked by two figurestbdVictor W. Horwood [21] 1916Horwood (1878–1939) was provincial government architect
Pediment sculpture commission was won by open competition [22]
Listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places [23]
New Brunswick Legislative Building New Brunswick Fredericton; 706 Queen Street New Brunswick Legislative Building- Fredericton- New Brunswick-20170718.jpg central shieldunknownJames C. Dumaresq1882Listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places [24]
Colonial Building Newfoundland and Labrador St. John's; Military Road Colonial Building Newfoundland August 2012 5.JPG lion and unicorn, in a version of the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom unknownJames Purcell1847
Colonialbuilding.jpg
Colonial Building:
Listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places [25]
Bank of Montreal, Sydney branchNova Scotia Sydney; 175 Charlotte Street Sydney (6579271377).jpg central shieldtbd Sir Andrew Taylor 1901Twin pediments on north and west facades, carved from olive green sandstone
Listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places [26]
Province House Nova Scotia Halifax; 1726 Hollis Street Province House (41247624134).jpg lion and unicorn, in a version of the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom unknownJohn Merrick1819Province House:
Province House, Halifax (3609681508).jpg

Listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places [27]
Bank of Montreal, Cambridge branchOntario Cambridge (Galt); 44 Main Street (at Water) Bank of Montreal building Cambridge Ontario 2012.jpg central shield in low relieftbdHogel & Davis1919Built by the Merchants' Bank of Canada
Bank of Montreal, Hamilton branchOntario Hamilton; James and Main BMO Hamilton.jpg Bank of Montreal coat of armstbdKenneth G. Rea1928Listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places [28]
Rideau Hall
(Government House)
Ontario Ottawa; 1 Sussex Drive Rideau Hall - 15.jpg lion and unicorn, in a version of the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom tbd David Ewart,
1914 expansion
1838
1865-1868
1914
Ottawa - Rideau Hall.JPG
Rideau Hall:
Pediments not original construction, date from 1914 construction of Mappin Hall
Listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places [29]
St. Lawrence Hall [30] Ontario Toronto; 157 King Street east Toronto StLawrence Hall pediment 01.jpg depiction of former coat of arms of Toronto John Cochrane and brothers [31] William Thomas 1851
St Lawrence Hall, Toronto (exterior).jpg
St. Lawrence Hall:
Listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places [32]
Ancienne Banque de MontréalQuebecGatineau; 40 promenade du Portage Former BMO building crest above door.jpg Curved fragmental pediment with Bank of Montreal coat of armsEdward and William Sutherland Maxwell1907Listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places [33]
Ancienne-Douane (old customs house)QuebecMontréal; 150, rue Saint-Paul Ouest / place Royale Ancienne-Douane 15.jpg Albion , representing Great Britain, solitary female figure with trident and shield [34] unknown John Ostell 1836
Ancienne-Douane 17.jpg
Old Customs House:
current statue replaces wooden original; [34]
Listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places [35]
Bank of Montreal Head Office Quebec Montreal; 119, rue Saint-Jacques Banque de Montreal Place d Armes Montreal 18.JPG Bank of Montreal coat of arms: two First Nations figures flank a seal with motto Concordia salus (here with two European pioneers) [36] Sir John Steell John Wells [37] 1847
Bank of Montreal Head Office, Montreal, Southeast view 20170410 1.jpg
Bank of Montreal Main Office
Bonsecours Market QuebecMontreal; 350, Rue Saint-Paul Le marche Bonsecours1.jpg abstract designtbdWilliam Footner1847Listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places [38]
Le Chien d'Or
The Golden Dog
QuebecQuebec City; Louis S. St.-Laurents Building, 3, Rue De Buade Bureau de poste Haute-Ville Quebec 06.JPG gold-painted limestone relief panel of a dog gnawing a boneunknownPierre Gauvreau, builder1688 (sculpture)
1872 (building)
1913 (expansion)
Quebec ville, Canada 22.jpg
North facade (relief panel is center, below the entrance porch's flag):
Listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places [39]
London and Lancashire Life Building QuebecMontreal; 244, rue Saint-Jacques Edifice London and Lancashire 02.jpg several minor ornate pediments on main and flanking facadesunknown Edward Maxwell 1898
London and Lancashire Insurance Building, Place d-Armes, Montreal, QC, about 1895.jpg
London and Lancashire Life Building, c.1895:
Maisonneuve Municipal Library
(Bibliothèque Maisonneuve)
QuebecMontreal; 4120 Ontario Street East Bibliotheque Maisonneuve 10.jpg central seal with inscriptiontbdCajetan Dufort [40] 1910-1912
WTMTL T10 DSC0002.JPG
Formerly, Maisonneuve City Hall:
(l'Hôtel de Ville de Maisonneuve)
Maisonneuve Public Bath and GymnasiumQuebecMontreal; 1875–1877, Morgan boulevard, Borough Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Bain Morgan 10.jpg blind pediment, with figural acroteriaArthur Dubord [41] Marius Dufresne [42] 1916
Bain Morgan 22.jpg
Later called "Bain Morgan"
Montreal Masonic Memorial Temple QuebecMontreal; 2295 Saint-Marc Street and 1805 Sherbrooke Street West Montreal Masonic Memorial Temple 9.JPG two caped male athletes flank a coat of arms with signs of the Four Evangelists tbd John Smith Archibald 1929Montreal Memorial Masonic Temple:
Montreal Masonic Memorial Temple 1.JPG

Listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places [43]
Ravenscrag , Hugh Allan ResidenceQuebecMontreal; 835-1025 Avenue des Pins Ouest Fronton du Ravenscrag.JPG coat of arms (motto Spero), scrollwork and foliation carved in deep open-bed pedimentunknownVictor Roy and John W. Hopkins1863Segmental pediment dormer:
Hugh Allan House 02.jpg
Rialto Theatre QuebecMontreal; 5723, avenue du Parc Rialto Cinema.jpg a pair of segmental pediments with escutcheonsunknownJoseph-Raoul Gariépy1924
Rialto Theatre Montreal 01.jpg
Rialto Theatre:
Listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places [44]
Saint-Joseph du Mont-Royal QuebecMontréal; 3800, chenin Queen Mary Dome @ Oratoire Saint-Joseph du Mont-Royal @ Mount Royal @ Montreal (30380813336).jpg escutcheon flanked by palm branches Paul Bellot 1937-1941Listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places [45]
Prince Edward Building SaskatchewanRegina; Scarth Street and 11th Avenue Prince Edward Building.jpg minor segmental pediments over 3rd story, and triangular pediments over 4th story, contain abstract carvingunknown David Ewart 1907aka Old Post Office
Saskatchewan Legislative Building Saskatchewan Regina; 2405 Legislative Drive Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly - Regina (30194721508)-cropped.jpg Center: Enthroned figure of Canada
Left: Seated Aboriginal, his wife and infant, tools and handicrafts
Right: Seated settler, his wife and 2 children, cow, sheep and plow [46]
Canadian members of the Bromsgrove Guild of Applied Arts [47] Edward and William Sutherland Maxwell 1912
Saskatchewan Legislative Building (3080562507).jpg
Saskatchewan Legislative Building:
Listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places [48]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Riel</span> Métis leader in Canada (1844–1885)

Louis Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of Canada and its first prime minister John A. Macdonald. Riel sought to defend Métis rights and identity as the Northwest Territories came progressively under the Canadian sphere of influence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tourism in Canada</span> Overview of tourism in Canada

Canada has a large domestic and foreign tourism industry. The second largest country in the world, Canada's wide geographical variety is a significant tourist attractor. Much of the country's tourism is centred in the following regions: Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Vancouver/Whistler, Niagara Falls, Vancouver Island, Canadian Rockies, British Columbia's Okanagan Valley, Churchill, Manitoba and the National Capital Region of Ottawa-Gatineau. The large cities are known for their culture, diversity, as well as the many national parks and historic sites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Northern Railway</span> Former railway company

The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its 1923 merger into the Canadian National Railway, the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Junior Football League</span> Canadian football league

The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is a national Major Junior Canadian football league consisting of 19 teams playing in five provinces across Canada. The teams compete annually for the Canadian Bowl. Many CJFL players move on to professional football careers in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and elsewhere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Forces base</span> Military installation of the Canadian Armed Forces

A Canadian Forces base or CFB is a military installation of the Canadian Armed Forces. For a facility to qualify as a Canadian Forces base, it must station one or more major units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyndall stone</span> Trademark of limestone from Canada

Tyndall Stone is a registered trademark name by Gillis Quarries Ltd. Tyndall Stone is a dolomitic limestone that is quarried from the Selkirk Member of the Ordovician Red River Formation in the vicinity of Garson and Tyndall, Manitoba, Canada. It is a cream-coloured limestone with a pervasive mottling of darker dolomite. The mottling gives the rock a tapestry-like effect, and it is popular for use as a building and ornamental stone.

Habitat for Humanity Canada is a non-governmental, and non-profit housing organization in Canada, being the Canadian arm of the global Habitat for Humanity.

Darling and Pearson was an architectural firm based in Toronto from 1895 through 1937. The firm was prolific and produced consistently fine work though the patronage of notable figures of the Canadian establishment, and is responsible for enhancing the architectural character and quality of the city, and indeed the rest of Canada, in the first quarter of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manitoba Legislative Building</span> Building in Manitoba, Canada

The Manitoba Legislative Building, originally named the Manitoba Parliament Building, is the meeting place of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, located in central Winnipeg, as well as being the twelfth provincial heritage site of Manitoba. Along with the Legislative Assembly, the building also accommodates the offices for Manitoba's Lieutenant Governor and the Executive Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saskatchewan Legislative Building</span> Government buildings in Saskatchewan, Canada

The Saskatchewan Legislative Building is located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, and houses the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Socialism in Canada</span> Role and influence of socialism in Canada

Socialism in Canada has a long history and along with conservatism and liberalism is a political force in Canada.

John Robertson was a Canadian author, writer, journalist and media personality.

The Labor-Progressive Party was the legal front of the Communist Party of Canada and several provincial wings of the party from 1943 to 1959.

Eli Bornstein is an American-born Canadian artist and teacher who has spent most of his life in Saskatchewan, Canada.

James William Ursel, also known as Jimmy Ursel, was a Canadian curler. He was the skip of the 1977 Brier Champion team, representing Quebec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prime Minister's Youth Council</span>

The Prime Minister's Youth Council is an advisory board created by the Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau in 2016. Currently, 10 Canadian youth aged 16 to 24 comprise the non-partisan board. Members advise the prime minister on education, economy, climate change and other issues affecting youth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulayu Pingwartok</span> Inuk artist

Ulayu Pingwartok was a Canadian Inuk artist known for drawings of domestic scenes and nature.

References

  1. Webb, Pamela A., Hellenistic Architectural Sculpture: Figural Motifs in Western Anatolia and the Aegean Islands, The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, Wisconsin, 1996 pp.23-25
  2. Price, Matlack, "The Problem of the Pediment," The Architectural Forum, July 1925, Volume XLIII, Number 1, pp. 1.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jean-Francois Caron, "The Golden Dog," Encyclopedia of French Cultural Heritage in North America.
  4. 1 2 3 Timothée Roussel from Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
  5. 1 2 William Kirby, The Chien d'Or: The Golden Dog; A Legend of Quebec (New York: R. Worthington, 1878).
  6. Nicholas Jacquin, dit Philibert from Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 James MacPherson Le Moine, "Le Chien d'Or: The History of an Old House," Maple Leaves (Quebec: Augustin Cote & Co., 1873), pp. 89-97.
  8. Legardeur de Repentigny from Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
  9. 1 2 Old Post Office from CRHP.
  10. David Mendel, "Old Post Office: An Imposing Edifice," Quebec: Birthplace of New France (Quebec: Sylvain Harvey and Commission de la capitale nationale de Quebec, 2012), pp. 18-23.
  11. 1 2 3 A. A. Stoughton, "The New Manitoba Parliament Building," Construction: A Journal for the Architectural, Engineering and Contracting Interests of Canada, vol. 16, no. 3 (March, 1921), H. Gagnier, Limited, Publishers, Toronto, Canada, p. 74.
  12. Wiens, Gavin. "Manitoba History: Carrying the Torch: Optimistic Themes in the Classical Vocabulary of the Manitoba Legislative Building". Manitoba Historical Society. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  13. "1923 (sic) - Bank of Montreal Building, Calgary, Alberta". Archiseek. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  14. Bank of Montreal, Calgary from CRHP.
  15. Barrett, Anthony A. & Rhodri Windsor Liscombe, Francis Rattenbury and British Columbia, Architecture and Challenge in the Imperial Age, University of British Columbia PressVancouver, 1983
  16. "1907 - Merchant's Bank of Canada, Victoria, British Columbia". Archiseek. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  17. Merchant's Bank of British Columbia from CRHP.
  18. Baker, Marilyn, Manitoba's Third Legislative Building, Symbols in Stone: The Art and Politics of a Public Building, Hyperion Press Limited, Winnipeg, 1986
  19. "Statues/Sculpture", 100 Facts, 100 Years, the Legislative Building of Manitoba, p. 16.
  20. Manitoba Legislative Building from CRHP.
  21. "Historic Sites of Manitoba: Winnipeg Law Courts Building (391 Broadway, Winnipeg)". Manitoba Historical Society. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  22. "Veiled Justice: the Bath Rubber and the Potato Peeler". Manitoba Free Press. 27 August 1915. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  23. Winnipeg Law Courts from CRHP.
  24. Legislative Assembly Block, New Brunswick from CRHP.
  25. Colonial Building from CRHP.
  26. Bank of Montreal, Sydney from CRHP.
  27. Province House, Nova Scotia from CRHP.
  28. Bank of Montreal, Hamilton from CRHP.
  29. Rideau Hall from CRHP.
  30. McKelvey, Margaret and Merilyn McKelvey, Toronto: Carved in Stone, Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Toronto 1984, p20 and more
  31. McKelvey, Margaret and Merilyn McKelvey, Toronto: Carved in Stone, Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Toronto 1984, p. 20
  32. St. Lawrence Hall from CRHP.
  33. Ancienne Banque de Montréal, Gatineau from CRHP.
  34. 1 2 "Propriétés municipales c'intérêt patrimonial (fr)". Ville de Montréal. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  35. Former Montreal Custom House from CRHP.
  36. "Bank of Montreal Coat of Arms". Bank of Montreal. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  37. Wells' Canadian Commissions (1831–1859)
  38. Bonsecours Market from CRHP.
  39. Old Post Office, Quebec City from CRHP.
  40. Dick Nieuwendyk, "Maisonneuve City Hall," Montreal Times, n.d.
  41. "To Start Work in Maisonneuve Park". Montreal Gazette. 4 November 1914. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  42. "Public bath and gymnasium, Morgan Boulevard, Montreal, QC, 1916". McCord Museum. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  43. Masonic Memorial Temple, Montreal from CRHP.
  44. Rialto Theatre from CRHP.
  45. Oratoire Saint-Joseph from CRHP.
  46. Gordon Barnart, Sentinel of the Prairies: The Saskatchewan Legislative Building (Regina, Saskatchewan: 1987), p. 37.
  47. Goodspeed, Rhona. "Saskatchewan Legislative Building and Grounds" (PDF). Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  48. Saskatchewan Legislative Building from CRHP.