Cornelius Krieghoff painted Canada for thirty years. He was particularly interested in first nations people and the rural French Canadians. His work is trailblazing. It is also the most sought-after, always breaking sales records for Canadian paintings.

But can we rely on the image he presents of the men and women who built this country?

The ethnological value of his work constitutes the fundamental framework of this film which presents the most complete synthesis of the research on the life and work of this painter who is impossible to avoid in the art history of Quebec and of Canada.

The most eminent researchers who had turned their attention to the work of this pioneer of Canadian painting were quite willing to participate in this film. In the same way, the largest museums in Quebec and in the rest of Canada (the McCord Museum of Canadian History, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts), lent their support and their works. The most important private collections in the country (Thomson, Beaverbrook and the Power Corporation) also collaborated for this film.

We are proud to present this important work which showcases more than 100 of the master's most renowned paintings. The production was filmed in the actual locations where the painter worked and lived, as far away as Bavaria where he lived during his childhood. This fact is not simply anecdotal, since up to the present day, no one ever filmed his childhood environment.

Krieghoff or the studio of a popular artist

Documentary, Quebec, 2006, color, digital, 51 min.

A film directed by Jean Roy.