Exhibited in the Museum of conteporary art of Baie St-Paul from October 1993 to Winter 1994.

Read the article about Trappers in the Forest of René Richard

To the right of the composition Trappers in the Forest, two men are talking near a camp. In his memoirs, Rene Richard reports that between his partner and long-time friend Demeriez (Dick) and he "it was always the perfect harmony" 1. Through this work, the artist evokes the complicity and the harmony needed to carry out a business in the Far North. In other words, the author Hugues De Jouvancourt emphasizes this imprescriptible link that unites the two men: "This life in common deepens the friendship they had for each other. Together, with a lot of stubbornness, they had managed to break through the secrets of nature a little bit.

At the center of the work, sled dogs are ready for the imminent start. During the 1940s, René Richard made a number of preparatory drawings for dogs. The popularity of the latter gives him the nickname of Husky Dog Habitant, under the pen of the Toronto journalist Augustus Bridle. For the Trappers in the forest, the artist pays particular attention to the posture and fur of these animals. This reflects the deep respect maintained for their ability to withstand the most demanding territorial constraints.

Laurence Perron

Sales and acquisition counsellor at the Cosner Gallery in Canadian Art, she is completing her Master's degree in Art History at the Université de Montréal.

<sub>1. Excerpt from René Richard's memoirs quoted by Bouchard, Jo-Anne (2007). René Richard et son œuvre : au confluent du pays mythique et de la tradition, doctoral thesis in history, Laval University, p.31.

2. From Jouvancourt, Hugues (1974). Rene Richard, Montreal: La Frégate editions, p.16</sub>