Souvenir - 1925
Marcelin was the fourth of seven children born to Stanislas and Eugenie Cardinal. In 1925, when Marcelin was 5, the family moved from their old house to a new house in Gravelbourg. Marcelin wanted to help and pestered his mother for something to do. Eugenie looked around and handed Marcelin an old kettle asking him to help her by carrying the kettle to the new house. According to Marcelin, as he stepped outside with the kettle, it was the first time that he remembered being struck by the blueness of the Saskatchewan sky and the verdant green pasture. This, according to Marcelin, was the beginning of his fascination with colour.
Souvenir – 1925 (122 x 94 cm) is acrylic/collage on board and was painted in 2003. On the front is a relatively true-to-life depiction of the kettle surround by a blue field representing the sky. On the back are memories or “souvenirs” of Marcelin’s life. Just under the title is a photograph of his mother, Eugenie, and below that is Marcelin’s “Itinéraire” – a brief synopsis of his life written by Marcelin’s wife Roseline. To the left are two postcards, one of a street in Gravelbourg with the caption, “Gravelbourg. Foyer de la vie française en Saskatchewan dans les années 20.” and a second of a locomotive. To the right of the itinéraire are photos of Marcelin from various stages of his life, correspondence from a voyage on board the SS Michelangelo from Cannes to New York in 1971 and steamer trunk labels from 1969 on board the same ship. 1971 marked the return of Marcelin and Roseline to live permanently in Montréal.
Christopher Lucarotti
June 6, 2023
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