There’s an amusing story about these statues. Each has an elaborately long and upturned nose for a reason. They stand on opposite sides of the Place de Armes in Montreal. The English gentleman holding his pug looks disdainfully at the French Catholic Basilica of Notre Dame. He is Anglican, after all. On his right, a French woman holding a poodle looks at the British-founded Bank of Montreal and sniffs at its crass commercialism. Their dogs, however, strain to meet each other. Today’s Montreal blends both the French and English cultures and languages.
The English gentleman and his pug.
The Catholic Basilica of Notre Dame, which offends the English gentleman’s Anglican sensibilities.
The French woman and her poodle.
The British-founded Bank of Montreal symbolizes crass commercialism to the French woman.
November 12, 2017