The year 1934 marks the young artist Jean-Paul Lemieux obtaining his diploma at the School of Fine Arts in Montreal, where he immediately became a professor of drawings. He also won the same year, the William Brymner Prize awarded by the Art Association of Montreal for young artists under 35 years of age.

According to the artist's comments in the article Reflexions on art, appeared in the events-Journal of December 17, 1938 and taken up by Marie Carani in his book, Jean-Paul Lemieux. The artist mentions this: Painting reflects its time as any art. If we know the time, we can very well understand the art. The painting must be of his time, of his time, it must be representative of the generation of the painter [...] It is therefore necessary to fully understand the work of the painter, not only to see his paintings, but also, well the to locate in the century where he lived. "

During his Montreal years, Lemieux regularly visits the exhibitions held at the Art Association of Montreal. Thus, in the 1920s, Lemieux immersed himself in the modern landscapes of the Group of Seven. These Canadian landscape designers will have a strong influence on Lemieux's painting at that time.

Here, in this landscape of the Island of Orleans, we find this inspiration of the modern landscape mentioned above and this, by the use of bright colors with clear and defined outlines. Lemieux will also have for mentor Clarence Gagnon as evidenced by the work with its luminous renderings and its representation of human activity in rural Quebec.

At the same time, Lemieux is still a student at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts during the execution of this landscape of Ile d'Orléans. From 1928, he received the teachings of Edwin Holgate. Through evening classes given by the latter, he transmits to Lemieux his great appreciation for the modern French painter, Cézanne. Cézanne's landscapes highlight the shapes and structure that we can also feel in the works of Lemieux of the 1920s and 1930s.

Source: Marie Carani, Jean-Paul Lemieux, Musée du Québec- Les publications du Québec, page 7. 

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