James Tissot (1836-1902), the wry and urbane observer of manners and fashions, painted scenes from the life of "society" that simmered with undercurrents of sexual drama. Smiling at his characters' vanities and foibles, Tissot reveled in each detail of their finery, every sign of their savoir-faire. This beautifully illustrated book presents about a hundred paintings, prints, and watercolors that represent every phase of Tissot's career, including such signature paintings as The Ball on Shipboard, Hush! (The Concert), and London Visitors.
Nancy Marsh and Malcolm Warner explore Tissot's themes and interests and consider the influence on his work of Charles Baudelaire's brilliant essay on the aesthetics of modernity, Le Peintre de la vie moderne. The authors also examine how Tissot dealt with the ways of modern love and the forms they took in Paris and London in the later nineteenth century.
This book accompanies an exhibition organized by the Yale Center for British Art and the American Federation of Arts that runs at the Yale Center for British Art from September 22 to November 28, 1999; the Musee du Quebec from 15, 1999 to March 12, 2000; and the Albright-Knox December Art Gallery in Buffalo from March 24 to July 2, 2000.
