In Heaven and on Earth

🔍 Ascension of Jesus Christ, Saint-Romuald de Farnham Church (photo: LB), © Estate of Ozias Leduc / SOCAN (2021)

In 1858, meant as a replacement to the small wooden church that couldn't meet the needs of an expanding population, Monsignor Jean-Charles Prince orders the construction of a larger stone church in Saint-Romuald de Farnham. Under the supervision of Father Édouard Springer, parish priest, construction lasts from 1858 to 1865.

Forty years later, Father Joseph-Magloire Laflamme gives Ozias Leduc the commission to decorate the church. In total, the artist creates thirty-four paintings between 1905 and 1912.

Themes chosen by Father Laflamme include the importance of education as well as the biblical foundations of the Catholic Church. Leduc sees this as an opportunity to communicate his own ideals related to the importance of educating the faithful through religious art.

As was the case for the decoration of Saint-Hilaire's church, this project shows Leduc's gradual tendency of abandoning the copy of great European masters in favor of a more personal style. This change can be seen in the works The sermon on the Mount and The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Leduc's skills are more polished than ever before. In the side altars' The Coronation of the Virgin and The Holy Family at the Workshop, the artist distinguishes the main characters from the backgrounds with precise and distinct brushstrokes.

One may also notice other changes in his technique. His representation of space becomes flatter by simplifying his compositions and reducing his palette. He evens out the distribution of shadows and light. He also creates swirling and spiraling effects from hatchings that contribute to the visual representation of elements such as air, clouds, trees and cloth.

Unfortunately, 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.