The first example of Canadian war art depicts an engagement between 200 Mohawk warriors and Samuel de Champlain (1570-1635) with the support of his Huron, Algonquin and Montagnais allies. The action occurred on 30 July, 1609 when the Mohawks sortied from their palisaded encampment beside Lake Champlain. Armed with his harquebus, the great explorer killed three Mohawk chiefs. Although the enemy fled on this occasion, Champlain had unwittingly secured the lasting enmity of the Five Nations. The hostility of the Iroquois Confederacy would retard the development of New France.
A man of great vision and many talents, Champlain had only limited artistic ability. His drawings exhibit no mastery of perspective. The canoes seen here bear little resemblance to the sleek craft constructed by the Amerindians; rather, they are in the style of river boats which the artist would have known in France. The palm trees in the background and the naked bodies of the Amerindians are products of artistic license. Since so much of the drawing is inaccurate we may also wonder about the value of the artist's self-portrait. Certainly the depiction of Champlain is so small that it is difficult to identify specific features. The statues and portraits of Champlain which are widely known today are largely the products of conjecture.
This copperplate engraving (14.6 x 23.5 cm) appeared in Champlain's Les Voyages du Sieur de Champlain Xaintongeois, published in Paris in 1613. In subsequent illustrations the artist's depiction of figures and costumes improved, but the techniques of perspective continued to elude him.
