Louis Jobin

Jobin, Louis

Louis Jobin, sculptor (b at St-Raymond, Qué 26 Oct 1845; d at Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré, Qué 11 Mar 1928). In 1870, after 4 years of apprenticeship in Québec City and New York, Jobin opened his own studio in Montréal. He filled many naval and commercial orders: ships' figureheads, signs and furniture. Moving to Québec in 1875, he increasingly specialized in large religious statues in metal-covered wood for the exterior of buildings. He did many Calvary scenes, monuments to the Sacred Heart, and numerous angels and saints. The huge Notre-Dame-du-Saguenay statue (7.5 m) is his most famous creation of this period (1881).

After an 1896 fire in his workshop, Jobin moved to Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré where, until his retirement in 1925, he continued to serve his religious clientele. Here he made his celebrated monument of St George on horseback for St-Georges-de-Beauce (1912). After his prolific 60-year career, Jobin was "rediscovered" by the anglophone and francophone intelligentsia, and his works are now much sought after.