Bilking the Toll

Although Cornelius Krieghoff was born in Amsterdam, he spent his youth in Dusseldorf, where he learned to paint. He is considered a Canadian artist because almost all of his prolific artistic output was created in Canada. He was the first popular artist on the Canadian art scene. Krieghoff painted portraits and landscape scenes depicting first nations, habitants (early French settlers), and locals. In Quebec City, Krieghoff found a ready market selling genre paintings to the English upper class, merchants, bankers, and garrison officers.

Habitants going to market in winter used sleighs and a system of private toll roads because the rivers were frozen. The expensive tolls were universally detested. In Bilking the Toll from the Winnipeg Art Gallery, we see one of Krieghoff’s most successful images, which he revisited several times.

The disabled toll keeper who is leaning on his crutch, his young son, and his small black dog are running after a sleigh of habitants who have sped by the toll booth without stopping to pay the toll. The sleigh’s driver is energetically whipping the horse to go faster, while the middle habitant is thumbing his nose at the toll keeper in defiance, and the habitant in the rear of the sleigh is brandishing a bottle of liquor in his upraised right hand as a sign of victory.   

- Norman Clark

Good that winter is nearly over. Have a great week! :)

P.S. But if you're not fed up with snow, see these Japanese woodblock prints (Ukiyo-e) with beautiful depictions of winter here.