Ozias Leduc is one of Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

's early painters. He was born in Saint-Hilaire-de-Rouville. Leduc produced many portraits, still lives and landscapes, as well as religious works.

Biography

Leduc was mainly self-taught. Around 1880, he worked with Luigi Cappello, an Italian painter, on church decorations. Around 1881, he was employed at Carli, a manufacturer of statues in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

. Around 1883, he worked with Adolphe Rho, decorating another church, this time in Yamachiche

Yamachiche, Quebec

Yamachiche is a municipality in the Mauricie region of the province of Quebec in Canada.-Etymology:The name Yamachiche was first used to identify the Little Yamachiche River which runs through the town. It came from the Native American words iyamitaw and achichki...

. After that, he started working on his own on church decorations. Leduc made a brief trip to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 and London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in 1897 with Suzor-Coté, where he was influenced by some impressionists.

Leduc received an Honorary doctorate from the Université de Montréal

Université de Montréal

The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...

 in 1938. His legacy includes teaching Paul-Émile Borduas

Paul-Émile Borduas

Paul-Émile Borduas was a Canadian painter known for his abstract paintings. He was also an activist for the separation of church and state, especially for art, in Quebec.- Biography :...

.
He is best known for his work decorating the Notre-Dame-de-la-Présentation church in Shawinigan South

Shawinigan, Quebec

Shawinigan is a city located on the Saint-Maurice River in the Mauricie area in Quebec, Canada. It has a population of approximately 51,904 people ....

, a project which took him thirteen years to complete. Notre-Dame-de-la-Présentation church was designated of National Historic Significance of Canada in 2004 and it was plaqued in 2005. Leduc lived a very solitary life in his home town and was dubbed "the sage of St-Hilaire".

He died in Saint-Hyacinthe

Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec

Saint-Hyacinthe is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 55,823. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérégie region, and is traversed by the Yamaska River which flows...

 in 1955.

Images and galleries

• Gallery from the Canadian government's Cybermuse project.
• God Go With You from the Mackenzie Art Gallery.
• Still-life, Study by Candlelight.
• Boy with Bread.
• The Young Student (also known as The Young Reader).

Information

• Short biography from the Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec
  Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec
  The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec is a museum in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada gathering approximately 25,000 works essentially produced in Quebec, or by Quebec artists, some of which dating from the 18th century. It also houses a library since 1987...
  
  .
• Very short biography on virtualmuseum.ca's Horizons project.
• Short biography from the Elliott Louis Gallery.
• Biography and information on The Young Reader from Fisheries and Oceans Canada related to a stamp displaying that painting.
• Presentation of Ozias Leduc and his work on the Notre-Dame-de-la-Présentation church.

Criticism and interpretation

• An interview on Leduc with Laurier Lacroix, professor of art history at the Université du Québec à Montréal
  Université du Québec à Montréal
  The Université du Québec à Montréal is one of four universities in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Basic facts:The UQAM is the largest constituent element of the Université du Québec , a public university system with other branches in Gatineau , Rimouski, Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec City, Chicoutimi, and...
  
  , by Compass (a "Jesuit Journal").
• An article (in French) by Michel Clerk about Leduc's contributions to public life.
• The Chapel of the Bishop's Palace in Sherbrooke: Some Preparatory Sketches by Ozias Leduc (in French), by Laurier Lacroix. Also available: a summary in English.
• The Preparatory Drawings for the Decoration of the Baptistry of Notre-Dame Church Montreal (in French), by Jean-René Ostiguy. Also available: a summary in English.
• L'oeuvre déchue (in French), by Stéphane Baillargeon, on Ozias Leduc and the Saints-Anges de Lachine church.