To cite this article: Paquette, Lucy. “Tissot’s wartime sketchbook, 1870-71,” in The Burlington Magazine (July 2020). The Hammock. https://thehammocknovel.wordpress.com/2020/07/13/tissots-wartime-sketchbook-1870-71-in-the-burlington-magazine-july-2020/. <Date viewed>.
Grab a glass and your glasses – and let’s toast Tissot; I hope you’ll soon read my new article, “Tissot’s wartime sketchbook, 1870-71,” by Lucy Paquette. The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 162, No. 1408 (July 2020), pp. 560-569 (10 pages).
Some background to the article: James Tissot was at the height of his success by the Salon of 1870, where he exhibited Young Lady in a Boat (Jeune femme en bateau), lent by a Philadelphia millionaire living in Paris who had bought it for 3,300 francs and The Foursome (Partie carrée), a light-hearted and fully clothed eighteenth-century take on Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass which brought him 8,000 francs from a dealer who sold it to the wife of a French banker. These were very high prices, reflecting the young painter’s renown.
Tissot had made it in Paris on his own from the time he was 19, and at 33, he evidently was content to live well, contribute wicked caricatures of world figures to a slightly subversive London Society magazine, Vanity Fair, and maintain a fairly low profile in the art world he had conquered within a decade of his arrival as a provincial art student.
In his new villa in the most fashionable avenue in Paris, his chic studio had quickly become a showcase for his renowned collection of Japanese art; it was a landmark to see when touring Paris – and, for Tissot, it was a brilliant marketing tool to attract commissions.
The Foursome (1870), by James Tissot. Oil on canvas, 47 by 56 in. (114.3 by 142.2 cm). National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. (Wiki)
These two paintings reflect Tissot’s carefree life in the early months of 1870, and I rediscovered a drawing by Tissot here in the U.S. – a surprising sketch that places him in Italy a month before Napoléon declared war on Prussia in July of that year.
How prepared was France for war?
Vanity Fair, Sept. 4, 1869: Sovereigns, No. 1 “Le regime parlementaire” (1869), by James Tissot. Color lithograph. Wove paper, 30.3 x 18.9 cm (11 15/16 x 7 7/16 in.) The Cleveland Museum of Art. Bequest of John Bonebrake 2014.254. Open Access.
Tissot began depicting this period in French history a year before it began, with the September 4, 1869 publication of his trenchant Vanity Fair political cartoon of a puny, weak and weary Napoléon III, ruler of “le régime parlementaire,” leaning on the supportive arm of Marianne, the symbol of republican France.
What role did James Tissot, a wealthy and successful young painter, play in the war?
Foyer of the Comédie-Française (Souvenir of the Siege of Paris) (1877), by James Tissot. Etching and drypoint on cream laid paper. Image: 14 15/16 x 10 13/16 in. (38 x 27.5 cm). Object 1977.7. Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, Massachusetts. Open Access.
In 1877, Tissot published an etching of a makeshift French hospital during the Franco-Prussian War: Foyer of the Comédie-Française. It was subtitled, Souvenir of the Siege of Paris.
But was this luxurious haven the reality of a wartime hospital? My research uncovered the fact that James Tissot became involved with a very different medical facility – days before he, unexpectedly, was sent to fight in the front line.
Le premier homme tué que j’ai vu (Souvenir du siège de Paris) (The First Killed I Saw (Souvenir of the Siege of Paris)), by James Tissot. (Courtesy of http://www.jamestissot.org)
In 1876, Tissot published an etching called The First Killed I Saw. Who, exactly, was the first man that Tissot saw killed? Was it this soldier, who plummeted with his rifle from a lookout atop a rocky precipice?
And is it possible this young man was Edgar Degas’ friend, the sculptor, Joseph Cuvelier?
If you enjoy reading about the Impressionists and the Franco-Prussian War, you’ll find my article in The Burlington of interest.
Below, you’ll find several links to previous blog posts that provide additional context to this fascinating period.
James Tissot, known for his realistic, detailed depictions of women’s fashions, was equally adept at a completely different type of work. These drawings and watercolors, which were not exhibited during his lifetime, reveal more about an enigmatic man.
My gratitude to Burlington Editor Michael Hall, Assistant Articles Editor Sarah Bolwell, and the layout and design team.
© 2020 by Lucy Paquette. All rights reserved.
The articles published on this blog are copyrighted by Lucy Paquette. An article or any portion of it may not be reproduced in any medium or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, without the author’s permission. You are welcome to cite or quote from an article provided you give full acknowledgement to the author.
Related posts:
“Napoleon is an idiot”: Courbet & the Fall of the Second Empire, 1870
James Tissot & Tommy Bowles Brave the Siege Together: October 1870
Courage & Cowardice: The Impressionists at War, 1870 (Part 1 of 2)
Courage & Cowardice: The Impressionists at War, 1870 (Part 2 of 2)
James Tissot and The Artists’ Brigade, 1870-71
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