30 bas-reliefs, 1983
Travertine
Height 1,8 m × width 1,2 m each, except as noted
Location: De Castelnau metro station, platforms and Saint-Laurent Ouest access

Mural by Jean-Charles Charuest at the foot of the stairs on the Saint-Michel platform
Parents and child
Foot of the stairs to the Saint-Michel platform
1,7 m × 1,8 m

This set of thirty whimsical caricatures by Jean-Charles Charuest renders homage to the Marché Jean-Talon situated near the station, with its scenes of shoppers and merchants. After Charuest drafted the works based on his observations in the market, Maurice Lord, a craftsman at the Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, transferred the drawings onto the stone using a technique used for tombstones.

The travertine used for the murals is a typically Italian stone, chosen as a reference to the Petite-Italie neighbourhood. The artist travelled to Italy to choose the blocks of stone.

"I wanted to create a lasting work, and indeed, it hasn't aged much in twenty years. It won't be any older twenty years from now, because I didn't create the works to match the fashion of the times. It's above all a story, a fable, with timeless and universal characters. It's not an intellectual work, but a playful one. Each passenger can create their own story."
— Jean-Charles Charuest

Saint-Laurent Ouest entrance:

Mural by Jean-Charles Charuest in the Saint-Laurent Ouest entrance
1: Musician, mother, and child
1,448 m × 1,8 m

2: Architects and shopper with flowers
1,448 m × 1,8 m

3: Shopper with birds
1,1 m × 1,8 m

Locator map for the murals