PROVENANCE
A Distinguished Private Collection, Ontario

Much of Cornelius Krieghoff’s work in Quebec is devoted to the lives of the habitants, people who lived in the countryside rather than in the cities of Montreal or Quebec. These rural citizens held a fascination and appeal for Krieghoff that meant he returned to them in his paintings again and again. His pictorial narratives provide a fascinating glimpse into the lives of these early Quebec settlers.

Father Returns Home is a vivid image of habitant life, replete with detail. The central tableau focuses on the man of the house returning to his family. The habitant father, richly clothed in a yellow coat held in place by a ceinture fléchée, lifts his younger child into the air. His wife, an older child and an attentive dog all act as witnesses to the happy reunion. This scene of return is central to the image, but Krieghoff carefully observes many aspects of the family’s lives. The cabin itself is finely detailed: snow and icicles edge the roof, and the warmth of the interior is hinted at through the smoke rising from the chimney. The residents’ relative wealth is indicated by the glassed window and the fact that the family employs two servants.

Equally well observed is the sleigh in which the father has returned. Note, for example, the elegant curlicue of the runners at the rear of the sleigh, the brightly painted jug inside it and the blanket draped over the back. Krieghoff has also paid close attention to the horse that pulled the sleigh. The harness is carefully rendered, and the visible steam coming from the horse’s nostrils suggests the coldness of this winter scene. The man attending the horse is clothed in a red hat, green jacket and blue trousers, a colour scheme that is echoed in the clothing of the female servant who draws water in the left forefront of the painting.

The importance of having a ready supply of water is emphasized by the woman drawing water from a semi-frozen pond. The wall behind and wooden cover to the right of her would have helped to ensure that the waterhole was ice-free. Equally important was a good source of fuel for the house fires. Krieghoff has meticulously detailed the woodpile itself and the sawhorse and axe that allowed the logs to be cut for use in the home. The need for the family to raise its own food is suggested by the group of three chickens in the centre right foreground. The isolation of this family home is accentuated by the grandeur of the distant mountain landscape and the closeness of the forest behind their house and barn.

Father Returns Home is a richly observed image that provides insight into the ways of the habitants of nineteenth-century Quebec. Krieghoff’s enormous skill as a narrative painter is very clear in this canvas. We feel that we know something of the lives of these people. The fact that the scene, although based on observation, is almost certainly drawn entirely from his imagination only serves to emphasize Krieghoff’s genius.

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