The centenary of the painter Jean-Paul Riopelle will be celebrated with pomp and works. Last Wednesday, the foundation in his name unveiled the many projects harnessed to the tribute train, spread over more than a year from October 7, 2022, his birthday. Large 60-meter mural on a hotel wall at the corner of Peel and Sherbrooke streets, play by Robert Lepage, educational program, performances by the Orchester symphonique de Montréal (OSM) with the record company GSI Musique during the Montréal en lumière festival. Add a retrospective in France at Saint-Paul de Vence, and another at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, called to travel abroad. Not to mention a new exhibition on the theme of migration at the Joliette Art Museum, a circus show of the 7 fingers of the hand, a book by art historian Pierre B. Landry , a symposium in 2023, and so on. Grandiose! Something new! There won’t be any left for the others, you think in petto. We applaud anyway.
The one André Breton nicknamed the Superior Trapper would undoubtedly pinch himself to believe it. Sacred monster during his lifetime, but at this point, the lighthouse of L’Isle-aux-Grues… No wonder that a 1954 painting signed with his pen was awarded for 3.7 million euros (5.3 million of Canadian dollars) on December 2 at Christie’s in Paris. A summit! Its rating goes up while its name shines ahead of the celebrations.
The former signatory of Global refusal is one of the most appreciated Quebec painters-sculptors from coast to coast and the best recognized on the international scene. It must be said that his Parisian years after the war had inspired him. Magical oils all in splinters of paint on burning interior landscapes! This giant between grace and fury had the right to a national funeral in Quebec in 2002 with the respect associated with his rank.
Still! Montreal, his birthplace, escaped him. He has his place Jean-Paul-Riopelle in the business district since 2004, soon his mural and paintings at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) or elsewhere, of course. But the sinews of war lie in the inauguration in 2025 of the Espace Riopelle in the future pavilion dedicated to his work at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ), on the Plains of Abraham. The announcement was made last week by the Riopelle Foundation and the Quebec government, with a budget of $ 143 million.
The MNBAQ already had the most impressive body of work, including the immense triptych Tribute to Rosa Luxembourg. Tomorrow he will be the chief custodian of his enlightenment for posterity. Philanthropists and private collectors such as Pierre Lassonde, Michael Audain, André Desmarais, France Chrétien Desmarais, Yseult Riopelle will bequeath an impressive number of paintings, engravings and sculptures. All sponsors grouped together to invest in the construction of the future pavilion. Thus, this place will become the radiant showcase of the artist’s heritage for his people as well as for amateurs and foreign tourists. The capital did not steal this jackpot. The stars and wills were aligned in front of its paving stones.
The MMFA was to host this Riopelle space under the administration of Nathalie Bondil, and many philanthropists would have contributed to it. The director, who until then had not given so much importance to Quebec artists, had offered Michael Audain and the Riopelle Foundation to create a new wing intended to bring together the painter’s 400 works, including those of Audain and d ‘other private collectors. The uproar around his dismissal in July 2020 will have shaken up some ambitions … In November of the same year, his successor, Stéphane Aquin, announced to withdraw his marbles. The museum coffers had been emptied during the pandemic, he mentioned, the costs of the wing dedicated to the painter on the roof of the Jean-Paul Desmarais pavilion were exploding.
The Riopelle Foundation and the Ministry of Culture were still pushing the wheel towards the metropolis. Alas! The project had become homeless, which hardly aroused the enthusiasm of the generous donors. There had been talk of housing the sign in the old Saint-Sulpice library, rue Saint-Denis. Its premises were hardly suited to the huge surface areas required, nor could they meet museum and health standards without sacrificing the heritage value of the building. Other frameworks were considered, abandoned. It smelled scorched. In Quebec, the community was bustling, the MNBAQ concocted a unifying project. Bingo!
Thus the metropolis will have avoided this opportunity to become a hub for the work of its famous offspring. Montrealers still have this impression of having been cheated in the detour, for lack of collective vision or after underground altercations. These centenary celebrations will be overshadowed here.