This lithograph shows an esplanade just outside the city walls. Today, the National Assembly, Quebec’s parliamentary building, faces the esplanade. When this piece was created in 1832, a working-class district was forming in this area, outside the walled city.

1830 - 1832

A stroll through the streets of Québec City in the early 19th century

Imagine walking through the streets of Québec City at the turn of the19th century... That is exactly the perspective you will have as you discover the artwork in this album of scenes of the era’s city life! Most of the pieces were created by British servicemen trained at the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich, England, where certain members of the British army learned advanced artistic techniques. Servicemen skilled in art could then put down on paper images of the places where the British army was operating. Rediscover Québec City through their eyes!

View of the esplanade and fortifications in Québec City

W. Walton, after Robert Auchmuty Sproule This lithograph shows an esplanade just outside the city walls. Today, the National Assembly, Quebec’s parliamentary building, faces the esplanade. When this piece was created in 1832, a working-class district was forming in this area, outside the walled city.

Chronoscope What do you notice in this piece? (unilingual French for a limited time)

Depicted period: 1832

Source: Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec Document in the public domain (free of copyright) - Date: 1832

OPEN