Maps of Canada

15 Thursday Oct 2020

Posted by michelinewalker in Canada, Canadian art

Tags

Act of Union 1840, Confederation, Constitutional Act 1791, Maps of Canada, Present Day, Quebec Act 1774, Today, Tom Thomson

1. The Quebec Act, 1774

New France fell to Britain in 1759 (Quebec City), 1760 (Montreal), and by virtue of the Treaty of Paris, 1763. The Quebec Act (1774) gave French-speaking Canadians a status that approximated the status of English-speaking Canadians. The Governor of Canada was Guy Carleton, 1^st Baron Dorchester.

Afficher l’image source — The Quebec Act, 1774

2. The Constitutional Act, 1791

After the American Revolutionary War, the United Empire Loyalists moved to Canada. The Constitutional Act of 1791 divided the large province of Quebec into Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Most of the inhabitants of Upper Canada spoke English. In Lower Canada, the majority of Canadians were French-speaking (Canadiens). English-speaking newcomers also settled in Lower Canada. The Eastern Townships would be home to a large number of English-speaking Canadians. But many French-speaking Canadians felt Lower Canada was their land.

Both the citizens of Upper Canada and Lower Canada rebelled in 1837-1838. The Crown levied money from its British North American colonies.

3. The Act of Union, 1840

Lord Durham investigated the Rebellions of 1837-1838. He recommended the union of the two Canadas. He hoped English-speaking Canadians would outnumber French-speaking Canadians.

4. Confederation Onwards

The Purchase of Rupert’s Land from the Hudson’s Bay Company transformed Canada into a large territory.

5. Canada, as it is

Love to everyone 💕

The West Wind

03 Thursday Sep 2015

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Music, Nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Beethoven, Canada, godliness, Nature, Ontario, The Group of Seven, The West Wind, Tom Thomson

The West Wind by Tom Thomson (Photo credit: Wikiart.org)

The “West Wind” is a major character in The Song of Hiawatha. It is Mudjekeewis, Hiawatha’s father, presuming he has a father.

In April 2012, I published a post featuring Tom Thomson‘s “West Wind” (1917). The “West Wind” is also a major character in the art of Tom Thomson (5 August 1877 – 8 July 1977). I sense similarities.

Thomson died before the Group of Seven was formed. However, given the subject matter of his paintings, his style as an artist, not to mention his lifestyle, that of a woodsman, he is considered as a precursor to members of the Group of Seven, arguably Canada’s most renowned group of artists. However, his lifestyle and the very title of the painting featured above also suggest cultural kinship with the Amerindians of the Central Woodland, thus identified by Stith Thompson.[1]

Tom Thomson settled in Algonquin Park in 1914, where he worked as a firefighter and guide, but lived in a cabin, devoting most of his time to his art. Thomson died during a canoeing trip. He was only 39. His premature death has served to transform him into a legend. The legend, however, is his art.

Landscape by Tom Thomson 1915

Evening, Canoe Lake by Tom Thomson, 1916

Pine Island, Georgian Bay by Tom Thomson 1916

The Jack Pine by Tom Thomson, 1917

Testimonials to a virgin past about to be destroyed for profit are numerous. Climate protected the Central Woodland. It was cold and therefore uninviting to loggers. But ‘improved’ harvesting technologies won the day. The Arctic is melting down.

There’s land left, but too much was harvested in a way that could not allow regrowth. It was harvested in the name of profit, and the prospect of profit numbs reason.

Humans kill. They kill in the name of profit. They also kill in the name of God. They kill.

Manabozho created land and whatever land had been lost to a flood, he created again. Such was his godliness.

RELATED ARTICLE

Tom Thomson’s “The West Wind” (14 April 2012)

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[1] Stith Thompson, The Folktale (Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 1977 [1946]), pp. 306-307.

—ooo—

Glenn Gould plays Beethoven‘s Piano concerto No. 1, Op. 15, Largo

Casson’s Swirling Pine and Beethoven’s “Kreutzer”

16 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Music

≈ Comments Off on Casson’s Swirling Pine and Beethoven’s “Kreutzer”

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Canada, Franklin Carmichael, Frederick Varley, Group of Seven, J. E. H. MacDonald, Lawren Harris, Tom Thomson

White Pine Art Print

A. J. Casson: White Pine

This painting is almost as beloved of Canadians as Tom Thomson‘s Jack Pine and The West Wind. At the very top of the list is Tom Tomson’s Jack Pine, but Casson’s has its own swirdling flow.

Alfred Joseph Casson (May 17, 1898 – February 20, 1992) was a member of the Group of Seven and the Group of Seven remains the most important group of artists Canada has known. However, I do not think Québécois would relate to these paintings in as visceral a way as do other Canadians, but outside Quebec, they are considered a national treasure: emblems.

Unlike Tom Tomson, A. J. Casson actually belonged to the Group. He was introduced to its members by Franklin Carmichael. Members of the original Group of Seven are Franklin Carmichael (1890–1945), Lawren Harris (1885–1970), A. Y. Jackson (1882–1972), Frank Johnston (1888–1949), Arthur Lismer (1885–1969), J. E. H. MacDonald (1873–1932), and Frederick Varley (1881–1969).

From time to time, I will feature a member of the group. Having described a defining rebellion in Canada, it is time I returned to gentler shores and cozy interiors.

Sonata for violin and piano № 9 ‘Kreutzer’ A-dur op. 47,

Walter Gieseking (piano)

(please click on the title to hear the music)

Tom Thomson’s The West Wind

14 Saturday Apr 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Canada

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

Algonquin Provincial Park, Canada, Grey Day, Group of Seven, Jack Pine, Songs Without Words, Tom Thomson, West Wind

The West Wind by Tom Thomson

Tom Thomson’s The West Wind (1917) also constitutes a powerful symbol of Canada. In this respect, it stands next to The Jack Pine. Tom Thomson loved the North and lived in Algonquin Park. But both The Jack Pine and The West Wind express solitude. Nature encloses man, but man nevertheless stands alone.

14. Mendelssohn Lieder ohne Worte, Op.38- No. 2. Allegro non troppo in C minor

Today I am featuring Tom Thomson’s The West Wind as I continue to investigate the 1837-1838 Rebellions, which took place in both Canadas. The Rebellions of 1837-1938 constitute so defining a moment in Canadian history that I need to research these events very carefully.

Please enjoy The West Wind. Tom Thomson was associated with the Group of Seven‘s art and the Group of Seven’s art is a monument to Canada’s history.

My musical offering for today is Lied number 14 of Mendelssohn’s 49 Lieder ohne Worte (Songs without Words). It is played by Daniel Barenboim.

I chose the fourteenth Lied to mark an anniversary. A hundred years ago, on April 14, 1912, the seemingly invincible Titanic sank, reaping the lives of some 1,500 of its passengers. Ironically, Mendelssohn’s Lied is entitled Lost Happiness.

: Grey Day, by Tom Thomson

Tom Thomson’s Jack Pine

13 Friday Apr 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Canada

≈ 42 Comments

Tags

Canada, Canadian, Emily Carr, Grey Day, Group of Seven, Jack Pine, Painting, Tom Thomson

Jack Pine

: The Jack Pine, by Tom Thomson (1916-1917); A maple leaf adorns the Canadian flag. However, the painting to the left, Thomas John Thomson’s The Jack Pine and The West Wind, to be featured in a future blog, constitute powerful symbols of Canada.

13. Mendelssohn Lieder ohne Worte, Op.38 – No. 1. Con moto in E flat (please click on the title to hear the music)

Tom Thomson (b at Claremont, Ont 5 Aug 1877; d at Canoe Lk, Ont 8 July 1917) was not a member of the Group of Seven, arguably the most famous group of Canadian artists, but he is associated with the group, as is Emily Carr (December 13, 1871 – March 2, 1945) who worked on the West Coast.

Tom Thomson died at the age of forty, in somewhat mysterious circumstances, and he did not leave a large number of paintings for posterity to enjoy, but the Jack Pine, above, and the West Wind are iconic. Canada has changed, but when Canadians think of Canada, they remember the Jack Pine.

Tom Thomson, artist
With his instinctive technical abilities and his intense love of the North, Thomson had all the elements necessary to become a great painter (courtesy Library and Archives Canada/C-17399). The Canadian Encyclopedia

April 13, 2012