Jacques Cartier was the first explorer the King of France sent to Canada. After a reconnaissance in 1534, Cartier came back in 1535 with the goal of overwintering. Cartier and his crew set up camp in what is now Québec City. Ill-adapted to the cold and without adequate provisions, the group struggled to make it through the winter, even with the help of the Indigenous locals. Exhausted, Cartier and his companions returned to France in the spring of 1536. Forever anchored in our collective memory, this voyage has been rendered in artwork, many of which you can discover in this album!
Louis-Félix Amiel
Neither Cartier nor his crew left drawings to record their stay in Canada. In the absence of images from the era, many painters relied on their imaginations to depict the event on canvas. This painting by 19th-century French artist Louis-Félix Amiel is one of the best known. It features the three ships of Cartier’s expedition.
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