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= Elise L'Hereux =

SUMMARY
Elise L’Hereux was a photographer born in Quebec City, Quebec, on January 22nd, 1827, which was towards the tail end of the Regency Era, which ended in 1837. She died in Quebec City in January of 1896. The Regency Era saw elegance and achievements in the fine arts and architecture, and the period was that of great refinement and cultural achievement. It was during this time period that war was waged with Napoleon, and on other fronts, which greatly affected commerce. The name “Regency Era” finds its roots with George, Prince of Wales, who became Prince Regent on February 5th, 1811, after George III became mentally unfit to fulfill his duties. Prince Regent was a patron of arts and had buildings such as Brighton Pavilion and Carleton House built. The Victorian period followed, which was considered to begin in 1832, with the passage of the Reform Act, and is the era that L’Heureux’s work was prominent. The Victoria period was that of Queen Victoria’s reign, and is characterized as peaceful among great powers, with an increase in economic activity. In this period there was a movement away from rationalism, in favour of romanticism and mysticism with regards to social values and arts. The political mindset of this period was increasingly liberal.

Photography at this time saw most photographers coming from Europe, or having experience or training in Europe. The result of this was a European influence in Canadian photography, stemming from a way of seeing and representing that was taken from European models. L’Heureux had her artistic focus set initially on portraits, typically of children, which she was very well known for. She then later expanded to focusing on calling cards and landscapes as well. Elise L’Heureux is a notable figure because of her immense contribution to documentary photography in the 19th century, as she documented the residents and landscapes of Quebec. The way she took over management of her photography company from her husband when he died was uncommon for women in that time period, and well as was the large role she played in the business.

EARLY LIFE
Elise L’Heureux was born in Quebec City, Quebec, on January 22nd, 1827, and was wife to Jules Isaie Benoit dit Livernois, who was born on October 22nd, 1830. They married in 1849, and established the Daguerrotype studio in 1854. Livernois died in 1865 of tuberculosis, which is when L’Heureux took over the business. L’Heureux and Livernois gave birth to Jules Ernest Benoit dit Livernois on August 19th, 1851, in Saint-Zéphirin – De-Courval, Quebec. He followed in his parent’s footsteps, travelling throughout Quebec for landscapes and exterior group portraits. He died on June 8th, 1933, and he was one of four 19th-century photographers commemorated with a Canadian postage stamp in 1989. Jules Ernest had a son named Jules Livernois, grandson of Elise L’Heureux. L’Heureux also had a daughter named Julia, who married L’Heureux’s former business partner Louis Fontaine dit Bienvenu.

L’Heureux got into the art industry when she and her husband opened a photography studio out of the home of L’Heureux’s parents. This business expanded into 3 studios, which specialized in portraits. When Livernois died in 1865, L’Heureux took over the business, and a year later created a partnership with her son-in-law Louis Bienvenu, effectively creating The Livernois and Bienvenu photography studio.

CAREER
L’Heureux’s career began when she and her husband opened their photography studio in 1854. She operated under the name Madame Livernois, and specialized in portraits of children from 1857-1858. The business gained traction quickly and expanded into 3 studios soon after, specializing in portraits, and L’Heureux won much acclaim for her portraits of children. Once the partnership of Livernois and Bienvenu came into fruition, they expanded to include doing calling cards and landscapes, alongside portraits. Livernois and Bienvenu were featured in the directory of Quebec from 1867-1875, and many of the studio’s works are now owned by the Musée Nationale des Beaux-arts du Québec.

Livernois and Bienvenu Photography had 3 locations: 3 Saint Jean Street, 17 Saint Jean Street, and 33 Saint Joseph Street. The studio had its works featured in L’Opinion Publique and in Canadian Illustrated 1870. The studio produced many portraits, some of which were for presidents of legislative council from 1792-1867. The partnership with Bienvenu dissolved in April 1873, and L’Heureux’s son took over the business in December 1873, renaming it “J. E. Livernois Limitée”, and continued to the run the studio into the 1880’s. The studio stayed in the family, as after L’Heureux’s son ran it, his son (L’Heureux’s grandson) took over the studio until 1952. The studio eventually went into bankruptcy in 1979.

ARTISTIC STYLES
L’Heureux used various artistic styles that were prominent in the Victorian Era, and switched styles as the style in the period changed. Daguerrotype was one of said methods, and was a positive image embedded in a silver-plated copper base that could not be duplicated. This style was very popular because it was a one of a kind art. The artistic style that followed daguerrotype was Collodion, or “wet-plate”, which essentially all but replaced daguerrotypes. This method allowed for multiple paper copies of the same image to be made from a glass negative. This style was inexpensive to produce, and pocket-sized portraits known as cartes de visite became very popular because of this style. A third prominent style of the Victorian Era that L’Heureux used was stereoscopic photographs. This was two small, almost identical images that were taken within moments of each other, with the camera repositioned a few inches apart for the second shot, consistent with the distance between a human’s eyes. The result of this, when viewed through a stereoscope was the two images blending into one to create a three-dimensional image. This artistic style also became vastly popular during the Victorian Era. L’Heureux used various personal variations in these artistic styles, including adding aqua tints and using oil mediums. Photographs coloured with oil mediums or aqua tints predisposed the participation of a painter or retouching, which is why the style was so unique.

EXHIBITIONS
The Nouvelle Galerie Historique was L’Heureux’s first exhibition, which was announced in January of 1866, and would feature a large collection of photographs produced by L’Heureux. Subsequent exhibitions were announced in July of 1867, and featured a collection of portraits of celebrities. It featured the biggest celebrities in the world, both Canadian and International, and included historic figures from Quebec. The exhibitions featured photographs using aqua tints and oil mediums, as was L’Heureux’s personal style.

L’Heureux’s art can now be found in various places, including the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Bibliotèque et Archives nationales du Quebéc, Library and Archives Canada, and the Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre in Quebec.

FINAL YEARS AND DEATH
L’Heureux died in Quebec City, Quebec, in January of 1896. The Livernois family is currently memorialized in Quebec place names.