Laurent Amiot was born in Quebec City in 1764, and after a first apprenticeship stayed in Paris for five years, just before the French Revolution, to perfect his artistic training. He returned to his hometown in the spring of 1787, acquainted with the latest European stylistic trends, mastering the art of composition and possessing a solid technique. He opened a workshop in the Old City the following year, inaugurating a fruitful practice that spans five decades. This illustrated catalog, containing some 80 works on display, is published on the occasion of the presentation of the first retrospective devoted to the artist. Three chapters highlight the fundamental role of Amiot's contribution to the development of art in Canada. The first two scrutinize his training, his practice, the operation of the workshop, the role of the collaborators and relationships with patrons. The third analyzes the work, trying to advance knowledge of the society in which it blossomed.

Rene Villeneuve's profile page

An historian of art and architecture, René Villeneuve is the curator responsible for the collections of early Canadian art at the National Gallery of Canada since 1987. These include gold and silversmithery, painting, sculpture and furniture from the 17th to the 19th century. A specialist in the history of Canadian art and Western gold and silversmiths, he is also interested in the history of collections and collectors and patronage in Canada. In addition to the presentation and enrichment of the Museum's collection, he has organized various exhibitions, all accompanied by catalogs: The Treasure of the Great Century: Art and Architecture in Quebec City in the 17th Century (in collaboration with with Luc Noppen), From Baroque to Neo-Classicism: Sculpture in Quebec; Quebec silverware from the collection of the National Gallery of Canada; Théophile Hamel: Dominick Daly O'Meara; Lord Dalhousie: Patron and collector. He regularly publishes, participates in conferences and gives lectures on various aspects of art history and architecture, both in Canada and abroad.