In the News
Fitzwilliam Museum Collects Corbet Medallion
The renowned Fitzwilliam Museum has recently acquired one of Christian Cardell Corbet's abstract art medallions for their permanent collection. The medal entitled "Seedling - Germination 1" is the first ever abstract art medallion Corbet ever created and represents fertility and growth. Says Corbet "This is a great honour for me to be inducted into such an acclaimed institution it (the medal) has found a worthy home and I am pleased."
Varley Art Gallery Acquires Corbet Art Medal
The Varley Art Gallery in Markham Ontario has recently acquired an art medal by Canadian artist Christian Cardell Corbet. The medallion, a fine bronze profile of the late Canadian artist Charles Comfort RCA, will be added to the art gallery's permanent collection in April 2005. This marks the second art gallery in Canada to now represent Corbet in their collection. Corbet is noted for his exceptional art medallions, a rare practice in Canada.
Medallion Acquired by Tom Thomson Gallery
Christian Cardell Corbet noted as one of the world's foremost portrait artists has recently had a bronze art medallion accepted into the Tom Thomson Gallery Permanent Collection. The bronze authorized medal entitled: "Doris McCarthy, Landscape Painter" measures an intimate 4" x 4" and depicts the famous painter at age 89. McCarthy who authorized Corbet to sculpt her image in 1999 as part of a series of famous Canadian woman is now 94 years old and continues to paint and exhibit her works at the international level.
Corbet has been recognized by the world over and collected by such highly reputable institutions as the British Museum, Imperial War Museum, Rijksmuseum among many other galleries and museums for his fine yet unique portrayal of his subjects most notably in bronze art medallions.
Letter From the Minister of Canadian Heritage
Letter from Rt. Hon. Ms. Helene Chalifour Scherrer, Minister of Canadian Heritage commending Christian Cardell Corbet for his important work with the Sulman Mummy.
Cartoon
Mummy set to show the world her face
Isabella Mindak
The Ottawa Citizen
Saturday, January 03, 2004
In a few weeks, the world will see the human face of a 2,200-year-old
Egyptian mummy that has been in Canada for almost a century.
Forensic artist Christian Cardell Corbet of London, Ont., has been working
for several months with other experts to reconstruct the facial features of
the Ptolemaic-period mummy housed in the Chatham-Kent Museum.
The Sulman mummy, named after George Sulman, the shopkeeper who bought it in
Egypt in 1913, was donated to the museum in the 1940s.
In 2001, Andrew Nelson, a professor of anthropology at the University of
Western Ontario in London, recommended the Sulman mummy for a National
Geographic program called The Mummy Road Show.
The program created an "osteobiography" to tell the story of the woman's
life by using her bones.
Earlier tests showed that while the woman was from the upper class, she was
not a member of royalty. The outside cover of the mummy was painted with
gold pigment and not the more expensive gold leaf.
She was at least 35 years old when she died. Her vertebrae showed she had
osteoarthritis. Lines on her tibia suggested that her growth started and
stopped about eight times, suggesting illness or malnutrition.
Now, a three-dimensional replica will reveal the face of the woman who lived
in the era of Cleopatra.
"We worked with the Integrated Manufacturing Technology Institute that is
funded by the National Research Council," said Mr. Nelson.
"They are one of the best virtual reality centres in the world."
After using evidence from experts, scanning devices and historical
references, Mr. Corbet is in the final stages of replicating the hair,
beading and other accessories.
"How lucky can an artist be?" said Mr. Corbet. "It was absolutely incredible
that I was the first person to see her in 2,200 years."
The formal unveiling of the mummy's face takes place at the museum Jan. 16,
followed by a television program on the Daily Planet on the Discovery
Channel on Jan. 19.
Mr. Nelson and his experts are now working on a Royal Ontario Museum
Egyptian mummy dating from AD 100. The mummy is affectionately referred to
as Our Lady of Hudson's Bay because she is lying on a blanket that resembles
the store's famous coverlets.
For Mr. Corbet, the experience of uncovering the Sulman mummy's human face
has been unforgettable.
"There's an emotional rush to see this person looking back at you in three
dimensions," he said.
"She's real. She lives, just one more time."
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People Worth Knowing: Christian Cardell Corbet |
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International A portrait of the late Queen Mother by artist Christian Cardell Corbet got him an invitation to tour Clarence House in England. The painting brought him international recognition.
Artist Christian Cardell Corbet wants to be remembered for a few things when all is said and done. He is well on his way to making sure this happens. "I want to be remembered as helping to reinstate the importance of portraiture in Canada," he says. "Also, I want to be remembered for sharing the knowledge of women and their accomplishments and goals in society." Born in Ajax, Ontario Mr. Corbet had a grasp on what human faces needed to look like at a young age. While the shapes of the heads were a little odd, the 3-year-old had made sure to scribble little eyes, noses and mouths inside them. And they were all in the right places too. "I didn't think too much about it, I just did it," Mr. Corbet says. Looking back, it was easy to see this young man had talent. In 1995, Mr. Corbet's talents soared to royal heights. Though he had never seen any childhood photographs of the Queen Mother, he began painting what he imagined she might have looked like. "Portraits are generally of people at their current age, and as a person grows older they reminisce more about the past than they do the future," Mr. Corbet explains. "All I wondered was what she looked like when she was young and so I painted a little girl who was holding a ribbon, waiting to have her hair tied up." He calls her the most beloved royal ever. Shortly after he presented the Queen Mother with the piece, he was invited to Clarence House in London, England. He toured her private collection of art works. The success of this painting brought Mr. Corbet recognition on international levels and many say he is the inspiration for the renaissance of portrait art in Canada. "To feel that I have been a part of the substantial history the Queen Mother has left behind, even if in the minutest way -- it is warming," Mr. Corbet says. "I have always been fascinated with women and I have also lived in a time when women are making a substantial difference." This fascination began at home. The women on his paternal side of the family have been displaying artistic talent for decades. Whether they were actors, artists or musicians, Mr. Corbet says these women were not afraid of who they were. They should be celebrated for extending themselves outside realm of what was acceptable in society. "My work is about people and the work they do and the message they have to give," he explains. "I would like to meet more women and translate their accomplishments." Until now, Mr. Corbet has done work portraits of Margaret Atwood, Jane Goodall, Jan Arden, Jean Coulthard and W.O. Mitchell, to name a few. His portraits are not always created with paint and canvass. He is one of a handful of artists who have taken to making bronze medallions. His medallion work has also been recognized internationally. Before he will begin any portrait, Mr. Corbet commits himself to doing research on his subject. He says portraiture is an art that needs not be exacting but interpretive, exploring the soul of the subject to greater heights with even greater understanding. "I think my accomplishments encourage people to ask me to do their portrait because they see that I take my work seriously. They see your body of work and they respect that you are a hard worker." He has been working professionally for the past seven years and his curriculum vitae provides ample evidence of just how busy he has been. At the moment, Mr. Corbet is switching into a lower gear. Since he moved his home here last August, which he has named Alicette after his grandmother, he says he is content. "Over the past year things have not been that busy career wise because I have found home. This is the place where I would be happy dying." He does have a few special Christmas projects lined up however. Three requests for portraits. One of the works will be a portrait of a young man and his late father. The challenge will be to illustrate how they might look together today, if the father were still alive. "I really like that emotional work; you feel a different drive, a completely different energy that is almost totally motivated by complete emotions. It is nice to know that work can move somebody." Mr. Corbet says he has discovered that our city has been home to many very important artists who have contributed to the art scene. He also finds the art in here to be more honest since it is not a major metropolis. "I really like it here and I really like the people, they are always very welcoming," he says. If there were one person he would like to thank for helping him to be who he is today, it would be his grandmother Alice. "She would say I was a good boy. She would say she taught me how to paint - paint the beach house, paint the fence."
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Recognition