Paul-Émile Borduas

Paul-Émile Borduas (1905-1960) was a painter and intellectual who profoundly influenced the development of the visual arts and the evolution of thought in modern Quebec. Apprentice to Ozias Leduc and trained at the École des beaux-arts de Montréal, Borduas became professor of drawing and decoration at the École du meuble de Montréal in 1937. From the early 1940s, inspired in particular by the Surrealists and the writings of André Breton, he abandoned figuration to devote himself to abstraction and the aesthetic foundations of what would later be recognized as Automatist painting. His approach inspired some of his students at the École du meuble and other young artists and intellectuals in the Montreal milieu. Together, they formed the “Automatistes” group in 1941. In 1948, he wrote the main text of the “Refus global” manifesto, co-signed by 15 other members of the Automatistes. In this landmark document, he challenged the social, intellectual and artistic orthodoxy of the time, calling for a freer society open to the world. The ideas he conveyed in his writings are recognized today as precursors of the Quiet Revolution.

Source: Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec

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Borduas en Gaspésie 1938

In 2025, Éditions Mai 50 (Serge Clément and Carlos Ferrand) published the portfolio “Borduas en Gaspésie”. In 1938, painter Paul-Émile Borduas visited the Gaspésie and Bas-Saint-Laurent regions as part of a provincial survey of domestic arts, crafts and tourism. He produced an extensive photographic series comprising over 900 negatives. Borduas' work remained largely unknown, with only a handful of photos published, and the negatives lost for several decades. Found around 1998, they were the subject of a publication and a traveling exhibition. The publication of the “Borduas en Gaspésie” portfolio is intended to provide financial support for the film project by Carlos Ferrand and Serge Clément entitled “Borduas - photographie 1938”.