This watercolour shows the magnificent view of the St. Lawrence River from Québec City’s Upper Town. It was made by Benjamin Fisher, a British officer and topographical painter. Between 1785 and 1796, Fisher travelled through Canada and produced many paintings. Québec City is one of the places he showcased in his paintings, along with Montréal and Niagara Falls.

1760 - 1791

Québec City, the maritime capital of the 18th-century

In the decades following 1760, the Province of Quebec became part of the British Empire in North America. The St. Lawrence River was the main commercial gateway to the continent. For Québec City residents, the river had become an even more important part of daily life. Often related to the import or export of goods, their work was closely linked to this waterway. For landscape artists of the period, Québec City was quite inseparable from the St. Lawrence River, which almost always appeared in their artwork. Discover a few of these magnificent works.

The St. Lawrence River as seen from Québec City’s Upper Town

Benjamin Fisher This watercolour shows the magnificent view of the St. Lawrence River from Québec City’s Upper Town. It was made by Benjamin Fisher, a British officer and topographical painter. Between 1785 and 1796, Fisher travelled through Canada and produced many paintings. Québec City is one of the places he showcased in his paintings, along with Montréal and Niagara Falls.

Chronoscope Can you locate where the artist was when he painted this work? (unilingual French for a limited time)

Depicted period: 1791

Source: Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec Document in the public domain (free of copyright) - Date: between 1785 and 1796

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