BOURGAULT, Médard (1897-1967)

Médard Bourgault was born in Saint-Jean-Port Joli, Quebec. He was a sailor turned carpenter-joiner before dedicating himself to sculpture. Inspired by the anthropologist Marius Barbeau to develop his talent as a sculptor, Médard Bourgault devoted himself to the art form definitively in 1927. His preferred themes were local in essence, as seen in L’arracheur de souche (1931); Le joueur de dames (1932) and Les moissonneurs (1940). In the 1930s, Médard Bourgault also became interested in religious art. Unlike serial productions of plaster statues, he sculpted wooden statues, each one original. In 1932 he invited his brothers Jean-Julien and André to join him. Eight years later, in 1940, the three brothers’ workshop would become the École de sculpture de Sainte-Jean-Port-Joli. Over the course of his career, Médard Bourgault completed more than 4,000 pieces that are now located across five continents. He died September 21, 1967.