CHABERT, JOSEPH, Roman Catholic clergyman and art teacher; b. 3 June 1831 in Lauris, France, son of François Chabert and Marguerite Thomassin; d. 29 March 1894 in Longue-Pointe (Montreal).

The son of a farmer, Joseph Chabert is believed to have studied for three years at the École Impériale des Beaux-Arts in Paris before pursuing a vocation in the church. In 1861 he entered the Congrégation de Sainte-Croix at Le Mans. He was tonsured the following year, but left the community in 1864.

In the spring of 1865, drawn to the work of evangelization, Chabert, by now a subdeacon, joined a group of missionaries recruited by Bishop Henri Faraud* for his vicariate apostolic of Athabasca-Mackenzie in Rupert’s Land. However, illness forced Chabert to abandon the project and he went instead to the Petit Séminaire de Sainte-Thérèse in Lower Canada, where he redesigned the art course. He is thought to have done the same at the Collège Masson in Terrebonne and to have been in charge of teaching art at the Collège d’Ottawa in 1865–66. In 1866 he founded his own art school in Ottawa. Accused in 1867 of being too élitist in his objectives, he changed his focus and from then on devoted himself to practical instruction in art and to the advancement of the working class.

Chabert may have been influenced to take this new direction by Napoléon Bourassa*, who was calling for a practical approach to education in the fine arts in Montreal, a city which was expanding rapidly in both population and industry. The growing industrialization required a work-force with some knowledge of the arts and sciences as applied to industry. As these were auspicious circumstances for Chabert’s educational work, he moved to Montreal at the end of 1870. The following January, through the help of some benefactors, including industrialist Jean-Baptiste Prat*, he was able to open for working people, without charge, the Institut National des Beaux-Arts, Sciences, Arts et Métiers et Industrie. The establishment operated from 1871 until about 1877, and again during the first semester of 1883; among its many teachers was engraver Rodolphe Bresdin. When it reopened from 1885 to 1887, Chabert turned his attention once again to teaching fine art. In 1886 his efforts were crowned with success when his students formed a professional association for the purpose of broadening the school’s role in public education. That year Chabert himself won a medal and a diploma at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London, England.

Chabert declared himself neutral in politics, yet the extreme diversity of his supporters suggests that he may have been a victim of his own schemes. His marginal position within the church as a permanent subdeacon doubtless increased his isolation. The history of his institute, which was punctuated by moments of glory and by sudden closings, reflected the misadventures of his own life. A charge of assaulting a young girl was brought against him in 1886, casting a shadow over the end of his career. On 7 Jan. 1888, suffering from insanity, he was confined to the asylum at Longue-Pointe, where he died on 29 March 1894.

Joseph Chabert was a dedicated, convincing, and lively presence in the classroom, attracting many students. La Minerve described him as a “capable teacher, well versed in all the difficulties of art and skilled in the best methods.” He was impressionable by nature and, according to Napoléon Bourassa, “an uncontrollable spirit,” whose lack of realism jeopardized all his undertakings, even those most worthy of praise. However, as the historians who have taken an interest in him suggest, Chabert must be acknowledged to have played a leading role in teaching the arts in the province of Quebec during the last quarter of the 19th century. Among the artists who attended his school were Edmond Dyonnet, Henri Beau*, Ludger Larose, and Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté*.

Bernard Mulaire