Historical Vignettes
Claude Picard: Creator of Emotions
Claude Picard, therefore, finds his inspiration as much in his personal experiences than in the words describing Madawaska's history, inspirations he would later be asked to reproduce in his own way, when he created an historical fresco for the Madawaska Bicentennial in 1985. The Edmundston City Council commissioned this mural to render homage to the pioneers, the land-clearers, the missionaries, and the builders of the Madawaska region.6
The historical mural telling Madawaska's story was an assignment which came about by accident. There was a desire to celebrate both the Bicentennial of Madawaska and the commemoration of our history and culture. I drawed from Madawaskayan historical books but also lived parts of this history therefore enabling me to develop twenty-four small scenes that make up the fresco... The country school, the bagosse, the ployes, the sugar camps, Doctor Laporte teaching two students, Doctor Cyr - also called the doctor of the poor, Mother Maillet, the first hospital at the convent... the old railway station, the Forum, the Cathedral, the Foire Brayonne...7