Paul-Émile Borduas was a Quebec painter and sculptor who was born in Saint-Hilaire and died in Paris. He is renowned not only for his immense artistic talent, but also for his political commitment. Not only did he create abstract works of modernism, but he also wrote the Refus global, a manifesto that had repercussions on all intellectual activities in Quebec. Because of his radical discourse on the importance of breaking free from the moral shackles that stifle creative voices, this man was a true spokesman for the liberation of the Quebec people.
He studied at the École des beaux-arts de Montréal, and later became a professor at the École du meuble, an important educational institution in the mid-twentieth century.
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1905: Paul-Émile Borduas is born in Saint-Hilaire.
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1923: Enrolls at the École des beaux-arts de Montréal and earns a teaching diploma.
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1935: Marries Gabrielle Goyette, daughter of a doctor.
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1937: He becomes a professor at the École du meuble.
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1942: The artist presents his non-figurative painting experiments.
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1948: Paul-Émile Borduas publishes Refus global, a work co-signed by 15 artists and denouncing the restrictive conformism of the time.
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1960: He dies on February 22 in Paris.