Historiae Canadensis

Historiae Canadensis, seu Novae Franciae libri decem was written by Francois Du Creux, also spelled Francois Ducreux, a Jesuit priest and historian born in 1596 in Saintes, in the Saintonge region of France. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1614 and spent twelve years teaching belles-lettres before being named an official historian of the order, in which capacity he undertook the writing of Historiae Canadensis. It was published in Paris in 1664 by Sebastien Cramoisy and Sebastien Mabre Cramoisy, and it is considered one of the earliest histories of Canada. Du Creux died in 1666 in Bordeaux. Plates accompanying the 1664 edition, including a scene titled The Death of some Jesuit Fathers in Nouvelle France, are credited to the printmaker Gregoire Huret rather than to Du Creux. No documented individual, living or deceased, uses Historiae Canadensis as a personal or professional name.

Standard art world references, including the National Gallery of Canada's Artists in Canada union list, exhibition databases, and major art press, contain no entries treating Historiae Canadensis as an artist. No verbatim critical quotations about "Historiae Canadensis" as an artist could be located in major outlets. Scholarly attention to the underlying text focuses on its place in the historiography of New France and the Jesuit Relations, rather than on any artist's practice.

No auction sale, price, currency, house, or date has been located for an artist named Historiae Canadensis, because no such artist has been identified. Copies of the 1664 book itself have circulated through the auction market, including a lot listed by Christie's, but the available listing does not include a confirmed hammer price or sale date. Any market activity connected to this title belongs to the book as a printed rare book object, or to individual engravings such as those by Gregoire Huret, rather than to a market for an artist's oeuvre.

Collectors should not treat Historiae Canadensis as an artist name. Works or documents connected to this title should be catalogued under the historian Francois Du Creux, also spelled Francois Ducreux, for the text itself, or under Gregoire Huret for engraved plates issued with the 1664 edition. There is no catalogue raisonne, certificate of authenticity program, gallery representation, or estate for Historiae Canadensis, because the designation does not apply to a documented individual artist.