James Tissot: In Full Sunlight, 1881

courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

James Tissot: (1836-1902)

Tissot's work is not in that supposed mainstream of style that flows through the 19th and 20th centuries. He lived in the age of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism but was not really part of either of those movements. Though trained in Paris and on close terms with Degas, he chose to live in London during the most exciting years of Impressionism. He specialised in depicting scenes of everyday life, and in his portraits he developed a taste for sophisticated women, and in particular their clothes.

In Full Sunlight was inspired by Tissot’s private life in Victorian London, which was rather improper by the standards of polite British society. At the left is Kathleen Newton, who lived out of wedlock with Tissot as his companion and model. Her free-spirited romantic life resulted in two children, Muriel (lying beside her) and Cecil (standing by the wall). The setting is likely Tissot’s garden in St John’s Wood, where the French painter lived from 1871 until Kathleen’s death in 1882.

the above text appears on the back of the card
HC-1296: card size 7" x 5" (178mm x 127mm)