Partly hidden behind the rows of books in the Claire-Martin library is a time capsule. Until August 26, enjoy some shots by photographer Thaddée Lebel and take a trip to the Saint-Jean-Baptiste neighborhood from the 1920s to 1930s, an initiative of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste neighborhood council.
Entitled Regard sur le quartier Saint-Jean-Baptiste — Thaddée Lebel, the small exhibition of around fifteen photos is an opportunity for locals and tourists alike to appreciate the history of the district. You can observe places that are past, transformed or still existing, such as the Hôtel du Parlement or the YMCA, which has become the Le Diamant theater today. The streets of Aiguillon and Lockwell are frozen in time, as are the few passers-by. As a whole, the exhibition bears witness mainly to the daily life of those years, specific to Lebel’s documentary style. Moreover, the photographs are as much a love letter to the neighborhood as to Thaddée Lebel himself, an appreciation of his work. The calm and relaxed atmosphere of the library goes very well with the clichés and the exhibition proves to be a good excuse to stretch your legs between two pages.
Thaddée Lebel having marked the city of Quebec, this is not the first time that his work has been presented to the public. In 2021, an exhibition on the different districts of the city took place at Villa Bagatelle. According to the curator of the exhibition, Claude Corriveau, it is “in order to continue to highlight the work of photographer Thaddée Lebel and to make known the pictures he took of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste district, that the Saint-Jean-Baptiste district council, with my collaboration, proposed to adapt part of this exhibition to present it in the exhibition hall of the Claire-Martin library”.
Thaddée Lebel, by his full name Joseph Louis Thaddée Lebel, was born on May 21, 1872 in Quebec and remained there until his death on August 31, 1946. We can say that he was as much married to his wife Augustine Jackson as to this city, loves that will accompany him until his last breath. He began his training in photography at the age of 16 at the Livernois studio and worked there until 1913, for a total of 25 years. During these years, he also set up a laboratory in the house of his parents-in-law, on rue Sainte-Julie in the Saint-Jean-Baptiste district. The house then becomes his studio and finds himself invaded by his pictures. Working freelance, his subjects are as diverse as his clients, offering his services to private companies, organizations and individuals. He defines his style by shots and sought-after contrasts. Its bequest, of a valuable historical and artistic quality, comprises around 1,500 pieces, most of which portray the 1920s to 1940s.
Following the hours of operation from the library, the exhibition is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Tuesday to Thursday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Friday to Monday, free of charge. So the next time you go to the library to devour a new story, also take the time to discover the one in your neighborhood!
2023-08-08 00:29:12
#story #pictures #Thaddée #Lebels #SaintJeanBaptiste
