In March 1971, Jacques Gaëtan Palumbo completed and signed an artist questionnaire now preserved within the National Gallery of Canada Library. The document provides a contemporary record of the artist’s education, exhibition history, professional appointments, and principal works at a pivotal moment in his career. Among the paintings listed by Palumbo is a 1969 oil painting titled Carthag 1269, recorded as being in the collection of J.S. Karsenty, Montreal.
Why This Matters
The present painting bears the designation A1269 on the reverse and is dated 1969. While no documentation currently confirms that A1269 and Carthag 1269 are the same work, the close correspondence between the numerical designation, date, and medium creates an intriguing archival connection to a painting documented directly by the artist himself only two years after its creation.
Archival Evidence
The artist questionnaire records:
- Jacques Gaëtan Palumbo, born September 16, 1939, in Philippeville, Algeria.
- Settlement in Montreal on July 27, 1965.
- Studies at the École des Beaux-Arts d’Alger and Centre Claude Bernard in Paris.
- Teaching appointments in Montreal, including CEGEP Ahuntsic.
- Membership in the Société des Artistes Professionnels du Québec (SAPQ).
- A list of principal works that includes Carthag 1269 (Oil, 1969).
The Transitional Years
The date of Carthag 1269 places it within the same period as Palumbo’s early abstract experiments, preceding the international computer-art and systems-oriented exhibitions that would later establish his reputation during the 1970s.