67Cup
Active Member
“If Giotto and Michelangelo lived in Toronto, Giotto would be unemployed and Michelangelo would move to New York” So, J. E. H. MacDonald, later of the Group of Seven. He was speaking of the dearth of public art in early 20th century Toronto. Apparently he said this kind of thing often enough and publicly enough that St. Anne’s Anglican Church in the west end of Toronto decided to place him in charge of a project to adorn the church with Biblically themed paintings and other ornamentation. He did a considerable amount of the work himself but also recruited other artists including fellow Group of Seven Members, Fred Varley and Franklin Carmichael.
This thread has focused on paintings of Toronto, but perhaps a brief diversion into the subject of painting in Toronto could be accepted. St. Anne’s is an unusual example of Toronto ecclesiastical architecture, as it is built in the Byzantine style, with (much smaller) echoes of Hagia Sophia. It is used frequently for concerts which is how I came to know about it. I think it is worth visiting even for those with limited interest in church architecture.
The attached video is the first of series of “tours” of the artwork there. My apologies if this is too large a diversion from the themes of the thread.
This thread has focused on paintings of Toronto, but perhaps a brief diversion into the subject of painting in Toronto could be accepted. St. Anne’s is an unusual example of Toronto ecclesiastical architecture, as it is built in the Byzantine style, with (much smaller) echoes of Hagia Sophia. It is used frequently for concerts which is how I came to know about it. I think it is worth visiting even for those with limited interest in church architecture.
The attached video is the first of series of “tours” of the artwork there. My apologies if this is too large a diversion from the themes of the thread.
