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拍品专文
There is a smaller oil on paper, possibly a preparatory study for the present picture, without the staffage, in the Séminaire de Québec, Quebec, for which see J.R. Porter, op. cit., pp.57-60, no.38 (illustrated). The label gives the incorrect title, although Légaré did paint a small oil on paper of the subject for the Abbé Maguire album (Archives, Monastère des Ursulines de Québec, Quebec City) and another larger oil on paper survives in the Séminaire de Québec, Quebec City (J.R. Porter, nos 46 and 45).
‘On 6 December 1839, Légaré wrote to Jacques Viger in Montreal to tell him that he had on hand small sketches on paper representing various landscapes. He added that he had a large painting of “the Montmorency Falls measuring 2 feet by 3.” This work may possibly the same as the picture we are now studying (the sizes differ by a few inches). The present owner [Peter Winkworth] of this landscape bought it in London a few years ago at an art sale. It was at another that he bought the picture entitled The Chaudière Falls … The Montmorency Falls may possibly be one of the paintings that the artist sold at the time to British visitors to Quebec. When the latter returned to England, they liked to take these pictures back with them as souvenirs of their stay.
'A sight unrivalled anywhere in the world according to Joseph Bouchette, the Montmorency Falls never failed to impress all those who visited them. … With a scene of such interest it is not surprising that Légaré painted the falls on numerous occasions … The London version is one of the most remarkable of the surviving canvases. To paint it, Légaré made use of a sketch on paper belonging to the Séminaire de Québec collection … . Indians and Whites of different classes appear in the final work, in which the whiteness of the falls makes a fine contrast with the greens and yellows dominating the composition. Two canoes ripple the quiet waters of the basin while in the foreground a rocky point covered in vegetation and stunted tree trunks adds a feeling of depth to the work.’ (J.R. Porter, op.cit., p.58)
‘On 6 December 1839, Légaré wrote to Jacques Viger in Montreal to tell him that he had on hand small sketches on paper representing various landscapes. He added that he had a large painting of “the Montmorency Falls measuring 2 feet by 3.” This work may possibly the same as the picture we are now studying (the sizes differ by a few inches). The present owner [Peter Winkworth] of this landscape bought it in London a few years ago at an art sale. It was at another that he bought the picture entitled The Chaudière Falls … The Montmorency Falls may possibly be one of the paintings that the artist sold at the time to British visitors to Quebec. When the latter returned to England, they liked to take these pictures back with them as souvenirs of their stay.
'A sight unrivalled anywhere in the world according to Joseph Bouchette, the Montmorency Falls never failed to impress all those who visited them. … With a scene of such interest it is not surprising that Légaré painted the falls on numerous occasions … The London version is one of the most remarkable of the surviving canvases. To paint it, Légaré made use of a sketch on paper belonging to the Séminaire de Québec collection … . Indians and Whites of different classes appear in the final work, in which the whiteness of the falls makes a fine contrast with the greens and yellows dominating the composition. Two canoes ripple the quiet waters of the basin while in the foreground a rocky point covered in vegetation and stunted tree trunks adds a feeling of depth to the work.’ (J.R. Porter, op.cit., p.58)