For the first time, a major Canadian museum is staging an
exhibition devoted exclusively to the full range of art in New
France. It’s a wonder that this hasn’t been done before.
Although an exhibition showcasing some art forms in Quebec
before the 20th century was organized for Pope John Paul II’s
visit in 1984, there has been nothing else remotely comparable
to Les Arts en Nouvelle-France, which opened last August at
Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec in Quebec City, and
which runs until Sept. 2. When I went to see the exhibition
early last month, I was lucky to have a special tour guide —
Daniel Drouin, the museum’s curator of art dating before 1850,
and co-curator of Les Arts en Nouvelle-France, along with art
historian Laurier Lacroix of the Université du Québec à
Montréal. New France was much larger than Quebec, as map
etchings presented at the entrance to the exhibition hall make
clear. Among them is Gilliaume de l’Isle’s 1703 map showing New
France extending as far west as the Lake of the Woods re