Biographies

The Baillairgé family is without doubt one of the most prolific in the history of architecture in the province of Québec. Skills were passed down and perfected from generation to generation. Jean arrived in New France, where he did his training, in 1741. He played a part in keeping the traditional forms in use after the conquest. His training as carpenter and sculptor allowed him to use the title of architect, in accordance with the British custom.

He went to Saint-Anne-de-la-Pocatière in 1751 to work on the interior layout of the church, and then returned to settle in Québec city. His career really took off in 1753 when he went into partnership with Armand-Joseph Chaussat. After the conquest, he constructed many private dwellings for people in Québec city. In 1766 he took part in the reconstruction of the cathedral which had burned down seven years earlier, and devoted several years to this project. In 1781, he went into partnership with his son, François, who had just returned from a trip to France where he had trained in painting and sculpture. A few years later, the Baillairgés were commissioned for the layout of the interior of Québec Cathedral. Working with his second son, Pierre-Florent, Jean took on other assignments for church interiors, including one for the church of Saint-Jean-Port-Joli.

François Baillairgé, fils de Jean, est né à Québec en 1759. Il s'initie rapidement à la sculpture auprès de son père qui l'incite à parfaire sa formation en France en 1778. De retour en 1781, il se consacre à la sculpture et à la peinture. Il réalise un grand nombre de peintures religieuses, de pièces de mobilier et de décors sculptés. De 1788 à 1793, avec son père, il prépare des plans et exécute une partie du décor intérieur de la basilique-cathédrale Notre-Dame de Québec. Il poursuit son œuvre par la réalisation de plusieurs ensembles sculptés pour différentes églises du Québec. En plus de sa renommée comme artiste, il fait preuve d'une grande aptitude pour l'architecture. Il est ainsi appelé à concevoir des plans pour la brasserie de Beauport, en 1791. Au début du 19e siècle, il prépare notamment des plans pour la première prison et le premier palais de justice de Québec, ainsi que des ailes pour l'Hôpital général de Québec, en 1818. Il termine également le décor de la basilique-cathédrale Notre-Dame avec l'aide de son fils Thomas.

Jean Baillairgé's son, François, was born in Québec in 1759. He was quickly brought into his father's business and encouraged to complete his training in France in 1778. On his return in 1781 he applied himself to sculpture and painting. He produced a great number of religious paintings, furnishings and carved décors. Between 1788 and 1793, together with his father, he designed and produced the remarkable interior of the Basilica-Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Québec. François continued his work by producing several sculptures for various churches in the province of Québec. In addition to his fame as an artist, he proved to have a great aptitude for architecture. He was therefore asked to draw up plans for the Beauport brewery in 1791. At the beginning of the 19th century, he prepared plans for the construction of the first prison and the first law courts in Québec, along with the lodgings for the Hôpital général de Québec in 1818. He also completed the interior design of Notre-Dame Basilica-Cathedral with the help of his son Thomas.

Charles Baillairgé was born in Québec in 1826. He was Thomas' nephew and came from a long line of artists and architects. He was a practising architect, engineer and surveyor. His architectural projects were influenced by neo-classicism, fashionable at that time. He was, however, one of the first, in the eighteen-fifties, to use a neo-gothic style for ecclesiastical architecture, for example the churches in Sainte-Marie de Beauce and Rivière-du-Loup. The second Québec prison, one of his major works, was started in 1860, just before he was nominated as city engineer of Québec city. He retained this post from 1866 to 1899 and during this time he took part in a project to modify the overall plan of the city under the leadership of Lord Dufferin. They were both held to be great men of vision, and together they planned a number of large-scale projects such as Dufferin Terrace and Battlefields Park including the Plains of Abraham, the Avenue des Braves and the Parc des Braves.

Claude Baillif, a native of Normandy in France, arrived in Québec in 1675. His building experience made him an architect who followed the French tradition. As such, he directed the construction work at the Seminary for three years at Mgr de Laval's request. Once he was free from this first contract, in 1679, he accepted many private contracts. Claude Baillif continued to work until his death in 1698 and employed more than twenty craftsmen as apprentices. One of these was Jean Maillou (1668-1753), who was given the honourable title of King's architect in 1719. Although very few of his plans or buildings have survived, he is recognised as an important influence in the architectural scene in Québec in the 17th century. .

Born in Québec in 1830, François-Xavier Berlinguet was trained by his father Louis-Thomas, who as sculptor, statue maker and gilder was himself taught in the tradition of Louis-Amable Quévillon. François-Xavier was introduced early in life to architecture and ornamental sculpture, and completed his training in architecture with Thomas Baillairgé and then in civil engineering with Charles Baillairgé, Thomas' nephew. He then started his own architectural practice in Québec and was given several commissions for church interiors in and around Québec including Beauport, Château-Richer and Cacouna. In 1870 he undertook civil engineering work in the maritime provinces which allowed him to increase his clientele. He returned to Québec after a trip to Europe in 1891, and went into partnership with the architect René-Pamphile Lemay in 1896. Together they took on major projects for religious communities and parish councils both in the Maritimes and in the province of Québec. The wing of the Parliament building and Charlottetown Cathedral, along with Chatham Cathedral in New Brunswick are definitely worth a mention.

Victor Bourgeau was born in Lavaltrie in 1809 and studied carpentry with his uncle. He moved to Montréal after his marriage to start business there. The first architectural plan attributed to him was in 1851 when he signed a contract for the construction of the church of Saint-Pierre-Apôtre in Montréal. Satisfied with his work, Mgr Ignace Bourget, bishop of the diocese of Montréal, chose Bourgeau as diocesan architect. From this time on, he acquired an excellent reputation through his many projects. He completed over two hundred buildings and the simplicity of his specifications and plans along with the facility in carrying them out was greatly appreciated. The church of Sainte-Rose-de-Lima in Laval, together with the Cathedral in Trois-Rivières and the Cathedral of Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur (today known as Marie-Reine-du-Monde) in Montréal, are all worth mentioning. He was also responsible for the interior arrangement and furnishings of the Basilica Notre-Dame de Montréal.

Gaspart Chaussegros de Léry was born in Toulon, in the south of France, in 1682. According to what is written about him, it seems he was introduced to military engineering by his father, Gaspard Chaussegros, and that he served in the army as military engineer before being sent to New France in 1716 on a temporary mission. He kept this job in Québec until his death in 1756. Apart from his commitments to the army, constructing military buildings which include the fortifications of Québec and Montréal, he also left civil and religious buildings to the colony such as the renovations to the palace of the Intendant in 1726, and Québec Cathedral in1749.

Born in 1774 in Dublin, Ireland, James O'Donnell emigrated to New York in 1812 where he completed about a dozen buildings including an indoor market, an asylum, private dwellings and churches. It was in New York that he met a member of the construction committee for the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Montréal which was, at that time, one of the most prestigious religious architectural projects in the province of Québec. Between 1824 and 1829, a few hundred people worked on the site which became O'Donnell's crowning achievement.

John Ostell was born in 1813. He served his apprenticeship with the Surveyor André Trudeau and settled permanently in Montréal with his wife who came from a family linked to the local construction industry. Ostell pursued his career as surveyor until 1852. During this time he also worked on various designs for architectural projects. His first assignment was the Customs building in Montréal. He then produced a design for the arts faculty and training college of McGill University, along with plans for the Montréal Law Courts. His first important undertaking in the field of ecclesiastical architecture was the construction of the towers for Notre-Dame Basilica in Montréal. He then undertook to draw up plans for several churches including the churches of Sainte-Anne and Notre-Dame-de-Grâce in Montréal. He was also the architect for the Episcopal palace there.

David Ouellet was born in La Malbaie in 1844 and was then educated at Saint-Anne-de-la-Pocatière private school. He trained under François-Xavier Berlinguet and settled in Montréal where he devoted himself to architectural sculpture. In 1876, he moved to Québec and pursued his career as an architect. Included amongst his early work in religious architecture are the façade for the parish church of l'Islet and the reconstruction of the church of Saint-Denis de Kamouraska. At this time many churches were needing to be enlarged. Ouellet built and renovated over a hundred churches and presbyteries, designed several interiors, about a dozen convents in addition to several civil buildings in eastern Québec.

Joseph-Ferdinand Peachy was born in Québec in 1830 and was introduced to architecture by Thomas Baillairgé. When the latter left the practice, Peachy went into partnership for a few years with Thomas' nephew, Charles Baillairgé. In 1866, he started up his own practice and employed many architects and apprentices. He followed in Thomas' footsteps and was given the major projects for the various religious communities. Peachy was already familiar with the Neo-classic style, and turned towards the French vocabulary of Second Empire architecture. This evoked the prestige and cultural attraction of Paris under the reign of the Emperor Napolean III. This style was quickly adopted by institutions such as Laval University for whom it symbolised a connection to French culture. It had a dazzling success and became widespread in ecclesiastical architecture, both in the public and private sectors. During his career, Peachy worked on about thirty churches, several public and commercial buildings, and over two hundred private dwellings. The church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste in Québec is one of his most remarkable achievements.

Louis-Amable Quévillon was born in Sault-au-Récollet in 1749. He was a skilful carpenter trained in his father's workshop before starting up on his own in 1787. From then on he trained sculptors who went into practice on both sides of the Saint Lawrence river between 1790 and 1850. Quévillon and his apprentices produced a great number of religious artefacts. They also produced several ornamental pieces of high quality for the parish churches surrounding the Montréal area. Amongst Quévillon's most well-known works, mention should be made of the churches of Verchères, Saint-Marc sur le Richelieu and Saint-Mathias.

Born in England in 1790, John Wells came to Montréal in 1831 as an engineer, and acted as overseer for the construction of the prison in Pied-du-Courant from 1831 to 1834. He then drew up the plans for the Marché Sainte-Anne in Montréal. He also won a competition for the erection of new buildings for McGill University. After this, he was appointed City Engineer for Montréal. In the field of church architecture, he collaborated in the drawing up of plans such as those for the Anglican Church and vicarage in Sorel, for the church of La Prairie and the Methodist Church in Québec