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LOT 050

CC QMG RCA
1904 - 1990
Canadian

Trois hommes noirs sont arrivés
oil on canvas
signed and dated 1980 indistinctly and on verso titled and titled Trois cavaliers noirs arrivent on the gallery label and dated 1981
11 x 14 in, 27.9 x 35.6 cm

Estimate: $30,000 - $50,000 CAD

Sold for: $58,250

Preview at:

PROVENANCE
Galerie L'Art Français Ltée, Montreal
Acquired from the above by the present Private Collection, Montreal


Trois hommes noirs sont arrivés (Three Black Men Have Arrived) is a mysterious and evocative oil on canvas by Jean Paul Lemieux. Illustrating Homo viator – man on a journey – this work suggests a greater narrative that goes beyond the boundaries of its Spartan composition. The artist’s minimalist pictorial language, adopted from the mid-1950s onward, is what makes his works so appealing. Here, a large flattened expanse of white snow extends towards a slanted horizon line, creating a dynamic diagonal in the pictorial space. The riders, rendered schematically, facing forward, give the impression of movement. The horse, one of Lemieux’s recurring subjects, symbolizes freedom in the artist’s oeuvre. Often depicted in winter landscapes, where roads or other bearings are deliberately hidden, his horses gallop in open spaces, with the horizon as the only limit. With Lemieux, the horse and rider are always leaving, always heading elsewhere. They sometimes carry messages with them, such as with the horse-riding mailman Nick Sluzick, one of Gabrielle Roy’s characters in her novel La petite poule d’eau, which Lemieux illustrated in 1981, the same year this work was produced.

This lot is accompanied by a series of commemorative stamps, autographed by Lemieux, that were produced in 1984 for the 450th anniversary of the arrival of Jacques Cartier in Canada.


Estimate: $30,000 - $50,000 CAD

All prices are in Canadian Dollars


Although great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information posted, errors and omissions may occur. All bids are subject to our Terms and Conditions of Business. Bidders must ensure they have satisfied themselves with the condition of the Lot prior to bidding. Condition reports are available upon request.