Childhood: Paul-Emile Borduas was a Quebec artist born in Saint-

Hilaire on Novemeber 1st, 1905 . He was the fourth child. His

father was Magloire Borduas, a carrier, and his mother was Éva

Perreault.  His first known artistic activity was bricolage. He only

received five years of primary school education- to age twelve.

When Borduas was sixteen he became the apprentice of Ozias

Leduc, a Quebec church painter. Borduas learned all of his basic

skills from Leduc. He also helped young Borduas get into the

Montreal fine arts school.

Backround: The Quebec in which Borduas lived in was vastly

different from modern-day Quebec. He began his work as  painter

in the 1940's. This period as marked by extreme conservatism and

religious ideas. The prime minister at the time,         was a religious man with questionable ideas .   His ideas where not questioned at the time. Borduas was one of the few who openly opposed the ideas represented in the time. As a painter, Borduas showed his opposition to the strict nature of his society through his artwork.

Influences: His mentor and teacher, Ozias Leduc as well as

Borduas had a tremendous influence of Quebec art as well as Quebec culture. In     , he created a group named the Automatists. The Automatists were a group of young artists with similar negative feelings towards Quebec's rigidness. They expressed their dissatisfaction through their abstract, surrealist art. The group\s main concept was that true art is automatic. Artists should not learn their techniques in an art school. Artists should not wait for inspiration to strike them. True art came without thought. It was free of inhibitions and worries as well as social norms. When an artist made an automatic art piece, they were learning about themselves in a way that would not be possible with though-out artwork. This kind of artwork allowed the artist to let their feelings, thoughts and emotions flow out in a truthful, natural manner.