Although Floraison was completed circa 1950, it became an individual painting only in 1956.
Originally, Floraison was a part of a larger work called Scherzo which was last exhibited at the Musée national d'art moderne in Paris in 1955. After that exhibit, Pellan decided to split the painting in two. Scherzo became Fabrique de fleurs magiques and Floraison. This type of painting is known as diptych.
Floraison was acquired by National Gallery of Canada in 1960.
Early Studies and Influences
Alfred Pellan was born in Quebec in 1906. At the age
of 17 he had already sold his first painting to an important gallery
while studdying at the Quebec School of Fine Arts. The piece was
Corner of Old Quebec. The purchaser : the National Gallery of
Canada. A few years later, at the age of 20, he received the first
fine arts scholarship awarded by the province of Quebec.
Off to Paris!
Like many other Canada artists had done before him,
Pellan decided to go to Paris. The Europeans were trend leaders with
the two popular tendancies being cubism and surrealism.
During his stay in the city of lights between 1926 and 1940,
Pellan's palette became more intense, his lines more fluid and his
images more abstract. In 1935, he won the first prize at he
Salon de l'art mural de Paris.
Returnig to Canada
In 1940, while the Second World War was ravaging
Europe, Pellan decided to return to Montreal to exhibit his work.
Considered a prolific and avant-garde artist, Pellan became the toast of
the town.
Pellan Teaches
A turning point in Pellan's career was accepting a
teaching job at Montreal's École des beaux-arts. He taught
from 1943 to 1952. The director, Charles Maillard, and Pellan did not
see eye-to-eye academically. When Maillard resigned in 1945 and was
replaced by director Marcel Parizeau, Pellan was able to teach art the
way he thought it should be taught : free of any particular ideology.
Convinced that artists should be allowed to express themselves and be
free of political ties, trends or moods and other constraints, Pellan
founded Prisme d'yeux in 1948, a short-lived organization including
himself and 14 other Quebec artists with a common philosophy : freedom
of expression.
The Canadian Group of Painters
The mandate of Prisme d'yeux was similar to the
manifesto expressed by the Canadian Group of Painters a decade or so
earlier. They too believed in the importance of a more broadminded
approach to painting.
The Canadian Group of Painters launched the careers of many famous
Canadian artists. It hosted exhibits for Canadians painters and was
instrumental in launching the careers of artists like Emily Carr (1933),
David Milne (1937), Goodridge Roberts (1939) and Paul-Emile
Borduas (1942), to name only a few. Alfred Pellan's turn came in 1942.
He gained exposure and fame through exhibits in Toronto, Quebec City,
Boston, New-York and Rio de Janeiro.
One of the most recent and sought after exhibits about Pellan was held
in Montreal during the summer of 1993 at the Musée d'art
contemporain de Montréal. The travelling exhibit closed
on December 31, 1994.
Art critics were unanimous... Pellan was finally receiving his due.
Pellan's paintings shared the halls and walls of famous museums -
at feast for the eyes! Pellan died in 1988.
Cybermuse
Alfred Pellan on the Internet
The Canadian Encyclopedia
La Guilde Graphique (english)
National Gallery of Canada
Library and Archives Canada
James Picard (english)
Gala (french)
L'Encyclopédie de l'Agora
GalRi (french)
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal
