CCI Newsletter, No. 25, May 2000

A New Look at the Work of Jean Dallaire

Marie-Claude Corbeil, Senior Conservation Scientist, Analytical Research Laboratory; Kate Helwig, Conservation Scientist, Analytical Research Laboratory;
and Claude Belleau, Conservator, Musée du Québec

In the summer of 1999, the Musée du Québec organized a retrospective exhibition devoted to the work of Jean Dallaire (1916–1965), which featured 129 of his works. Previous exhibits had occurred in 1948 when the Musée du Québec had been the first public institution to exhibit Dallaire's works, in 1968 (3 years after Dallaire's death) when the Musée du Québec and the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal had joined forces to organize the first retrospective exhibition, and in 1975 when his native city of Hull—on the 175th anniversary of its founding—paid homage to him by exhibiting 61 of his works.

Jean Dallaire lived a turbulent life marked by painful events, such as his 4-year internment in a German camp at Saint-Denis during the Second World War, then his exile in France when he learned that he was incurably ill. His life ended in Vence, at the age of 49. Often described as a "peintre maudit" [accursed painter], the title of a stylized self-portrait, Dallaire nevertheless created a world of vibrant colour that at first glance seems very cheerful. However, a closer look shows that his works are often marked by cynicism and that they harbour dark elements, often concealed by a profusion of images.

The Musée du Québec 1999 retrospective was the largest ever exhibition devoted to Jean Dallaire, and provided an ideal opportunity to devote a segment of the 20th-century Canadian Artists' Painting Materials Project¹ to this artist who, although refusing to belong to a school, nevertheless left his mark on Quebec and Canadian art.

Clearly it was impossible to analyse the materials of all 129 works. We therefore asked Michèle Grandbois, Curator of modern art at the Musée du Québec and Curator of the exhibition, to choose about 20–30 works representative of his technique. Twenty-five paintings and gouaches, from the collections of the Musée du Québec, the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and the National Gallery of Canada, were eventually selected to be sampled during the summer of 1998 and the early part of 1999.

The analytical study focused primarily on the materials used by the artist, such as pigments and binders. Some 250 samples were analysed using scanning electron microscopy in combination with X-ray spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, and polarized light microscopy. Thanks to the federal government's Young Canada Works program, we were able to benefit from the assistance of two interns, Yanick Rainville and Karen Lawford. Both were on 6-month internships during which they familiarized themselves with the analytical methods used at CCI's Analytical Research Laboratory. Their contribution enabled us to bring the project to a rapid conclusion.

The results show that Dallaire had an extremely rich palette. He used a very large number of pigments for his paintings, including such traditional pigments as vermilion, ultramarine, and bone black, and 19th-century pigments such as cadmium orange and yellow, emerald green, and cobalt violet. As well, he used a wide range of organic pigments developed in the 20th century, such as toluidine red, para red, and several varieties of Hansa yellow.

In addition to the analysis results, data concerning technical details—such as the type of support and the presence of a commercially prepared ground or one applied by the artist—were collected for all the works before the exhibit opened. The condition of the works was also noted, and it was determined that most of the gouaches were very discoloured. Moreover, the chemical analyses of the gouaches sampled revealed the presence of several organic pigments. We also identified another conservation problem: Dallaire often re-used paintings; therefore, some paintings contain a large number of superimposed layers that are lifting and flaking in places.

Throughout his career, Dallaire made use of rich colours, motifs, and textures. The public was able to appreciate the work of this artist last summer in Quebec City and will have another opportunity this spring at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The Galerie Montcalm in Hull will also mount a more modest exhibition this summer for the city's bicentennial. Those who would like to get to know Dallaire or to re-acquaint themselves with his work should obtain the catalogue prepared by the Musée du Québec.² As for the results of our study, they will be compiled and then published in the conservation literature.

1. To find out more about this project, see John M. Taylor's article in the CCI Newsletter, No. 10, September 1992, p. 8.

2. Musée du Québec. Dallaire. Quebec City, 1999.