La Joute
La Joute is a public sculptural monument in Montreal, Canada, located in Jean-Paul Riopelle Square in the Quartier international de Montréal. It was created by Quebec artist Jean-Paul Riopelle, a member of the Automatistes movement. The bronze sculpture ensemble features a central fountain surrounded by a series of abstract animals and human figures placed both inside and outside the fountain base. As a public work in Montreal, it combines sculptural forms and water in a distinctive urban setting.
© Montrealais · CC BY 3.0
March 2011 © art_inthecity · CC BY 2.0
June 2010 © art_inthecity · CC BY 2.0
© Laurent Paoletti · CC BY 3.0
May 2013 © Jeangagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0
Identification | |
| Title | La Joute |
| English title | The Joust |
| Type | Public sculptural fountain installation |
Historical context | |
| Date | 1969 |
| First conceived | 1966 |
| Initial presentation | Presented to the City of Montreal as part of the 1967 Montreal World Exposition project |
Creator | |
| Artist | Jean-Paul Riopelle |
| Artist origin | Quebec |
| Artist movement | Automatiste |
Discovery and provenance | |
| Commemorative plaque | A bronze plaque with the sculpture's name and the five Olympic rings was added a few years later |
| Official inauguration | Officially inaugurated on an unspecified date and ceremonially handed over to Claude Rouleau, then president of the Régie des installations olympiques (RIO) |
| Intended installation site | Parc olympique (Olympic Park), Montreal, for the 1976 Summer Olympic Games |
| Acquisition | Accepted by the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal as a donation from eleven collectors after several hesitations; the collectors paid $325,000 |
| Subsequent presentation | Presented the following year at the Canadian Cultural Centre and the Musée d'art moderne de Paris |
| First public presentation | Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, at the Fondation Maeght, in the exhibition Sculptures et grands Formats de Riopelle |
| Initial models | First a clay model, then a plaster model |
| Work process | Riopelle began working intermittently on the sculpture in 1969 |
| Casting | Cast in Italy in 1974 |
Location and ownership | |
| Current location | Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle, Quartier international de Montréal, Montreal, Canada |
| Former location | Olympic Park, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district, Montreal |
| Current owner | Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal |
History and restoration | |
| Relocation support | Supported by the Government of Quebec, Riopelle's heirs, and the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal |
| Renovation announcement | Announced in September 2013, with no schedule initially specified |
| Renovation | A renovation program was approved by the Ville-Marie borough for $443,000; work took place in summer 2018 |
| Relocation context | The work had not been intended to remain permanently at the Olympic Park |
| Relocation argument | Supporters said the move would appropriately honor the artist and allow the work to be more widely seen and displayed according to the artist's wishes |
| Relocation controversy | The move caused controversy and indignation among residents of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve |
| Relocation criticism | Opponents said moving it from the Olympic Park deprived it of the context needed for its full meaning as a tribute to sport |
| 1983 intervention | In 1983, the RIO removed certain components to make room for a café-terrace at the foot of the work |
| Condition over time | It deteriorated |
| Maintenance responsibility | The RIO was responsible for maintenance |
| Relocation | Moved to Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle in 2003 during the redevelopment of Montreal's Quartier international |
Physical characteristics | |
| Style | Abstract |
| Subjects depicted | Animal and human figures, including an owl, a fish, a bear, and a dog, as well as abstract figures |
| Additional feature | A circular ring projects flames at certain evening hours |
| Setting | Inside and outside a circular basin |
| Central feature | A central fountain |
| Composition | An ensemble of thirty bronze sculptures |
Materials | |
| Material | Bronze |
| Gas source | Natural gas jets |
Technique | |
| Kinetic sequence duration | About 32 minutes |
| Daily activation time in summer | Every hour from 17:30 to 23:00, beginning a few minutes before the half hour |
| Sequence start | The fountain jet expands to form a dome over the sculptures |
| Fog sequence | Grates at the rear of the park emit mist in sequence; 12 grates activate one after another, taking about 90 seconds from one to the next |
| Dense mist stage | After about 18 minutes, machines inside the fountain produce a particularly dense cloud |
| Water jet stage | The fountain jet changes into a dribble |
| Fire stage | At the hour, nozzles in a ring surrounding the central sculpture inside the basin shoot natural gas jets through the water, lit by flame sources installed in the bases of some sculptures, producing a dramatic ring of flame |
| Fire duration | About seven minutes |
| End of sequence | The fountain restarts and douses the fire; the mist then stops |
| Non-fire fog sequence frequency | Occurs every hour throughout the day |