MELOCHE AND THE SAINT-MICHEL DE VAUDREUIL CHURCH

It was in 1883 that François-Édouard Meloche (1855-1914) created the current interior décor of the Saint-Michel de Vaudreuil Church, with the help of his apprentice Toussaint-Xénophon Renaud (1860-1946) and others¹. Because of the many fires and renovations that occured over the years², very little of this muralist’s work remains. The Saint-Michel de Vaudreuil Church is therefore an artistic rarity in the history of Québec’s ornamental art³.

FROM WATCHMAKING TO PLASTER STATUES

François-Édouard Meloche was born in Montréal on December 27, 1855 in a wealthy family of watchmakers. In 1861, he was enrolled at the Collège Sainte-Marie under the Jesuit Fathers in order to begin his classical studies. However, his father's prolonged illness caused the family to face significant financial difficulties. He completed his academic training while supporting his family. For several years, he worked in a church ornament shop where he painted processional banners and plaster statues.

A MENTOR

His artistic talent was soon discovered by Napoléon Bourassa (1827-1916), then professor at Collège Sainte-Marie. Bourassa took him under his wing and gave him the opportunity to study architecture, sculpture and painting, free of charge. He then took him on as an apprentice in the decoration of the Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes Chapel in Montréal (1875-1882). It was during this project that François-Édouard Meloche learned his trade. He was chosen by Napoléon Bourassa to decorate the chapel’s imposing dome⁴.

AN ARTIST ACTIVE IN THE VALLEYFIELD DIOCESE

At the age of twenty, François-Édouard Meloche was recognized as a painter-decorator and began his career as a mural artist. It was in the Valleyfield Diocese, created in 1892, that he obtained his first contracts as the painted decoration trend became increasingly popular. In 1881, he designed the interior décor of the Saint-Polycarpe Church, as well as that of Coteau-du-Lac's Saint-Ignace Church. In 1885, he also created the interior of the Sainte-Madeleine Church in Rigaud. In 1886, he painted artwork for the Saint-Zotique Church and Salaberry-de-Valleyfield's Sainte-Cécile Cathedral. In 1894, he worked at the Saint-Télesphore Church. Unfortunately, the only remaining examples of Meloche's interior decorations are found in the Saint-Télesphore and Saint-Michel de Vaudreuil churches.

A FULL CAREER

Over the course of his career, François-Édouard Meloche participated, as a muralist, in over a hundred church projects throughout Québec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Manitoba. In addition to his career as a painter-decorator, Meloche taught painting at the Conseil des arts et manufactures de Montréal. He continued to teach the art of interior decoration and religious murals just as his mentor Napoléon Bourassa had done. It appears that after 1900, François-Édouard Meloche ceased all professional and artistic activity. This suggests an early retirement as his name is nowhere to be found in the archives. It is his apprentice and companion Toussaint-Xénophon Renaud who took over as painter-decorator⁵. François-Édouard Meloche died on August 15, 1914 in his Montréal residence.