In Heaven and on Earth

🔍 Mystic Lamb, Saints-Anges de Lachine Church (photo: LB), © Estate of Ozias Leduc / SOCAN (2021)

The theme is, in short, the divine lamb, whose sacrifice erased the sins of men and glorified by the multitude of angels, creatures of God Almighty. - Ozias Leduc

For this large-scale project, Leduc creates the paintings intended for the church's various spaces. There are in all seventy-two angels whose height varies between 1.50m and 2.15m.

The main theme of The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb becomes a vehicle for Leduc's belief about the importance of spiritual education through art. His idea is to associate visual symbolism with the Angels, patron saints of the Church. His approach is based on an excerpt from the Apocalypse of John:

Then I looked and heard the voices of angels around the throne. They were thousands and thousands. With a loud voice they proclaimed: "Worthy is the Lamb, that was slain, to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and blessing".

This way, Leduc accentuates the glory of God and the coming of his reign. With the exception of the Mystic Lamb located in the center of the choir's vault, all of his paintings depict angels: archangels, cherubim, angels carrying the instruments of the Passion of Christ, angels with emblems and musical instruments.

The relationship between the artist and his art is, in a way, a spiritualization of matter, a symbolic image of the inner world moving deep within the soul. The adventure of art calls you, thus begins Jacob's struggle with the Angel. - Ozias Leduc

Leduc surrounds himself with a team made up of a partner, Fortunat Rho, and apprentices, including Paul-Émile Borduas. The artist undertakes this large-scale project making sure it remains homogeneous. His wish is to create an absolute harmony between his decorative elements and the church's architecture.

Borduas plays an important role in the production of the paintings of the choir and the nave. While Leduc takes care of the details and finishing, his apprentice is in charge of applying the colors.

In 1959, the artist Alphonse l'Espérance is commissioned to carry out restauration and cleaning requested by the parish. Unfortunately, this results in the loss of much of Leduc's original work. The appearance of the angels, the structure of the paintings themselves and the colors have been irreparably damaged. The angels' expressions had been subdued, whereas Leduc wanted them severe. The colors were completely transformed as well: halftones and sober tonalities favored by Leduc are replaced by the pastel tones of today.

Over the years, a great majority of the paintings have been retouched, modified, hidden or overpainted. Various decorative elements have also been removed or replaced. Although the themes remain untouched, the subtlety of Leduc's original work has largely been erased.