The Limited Times

James Tissot: crinolines with a bottle brush

6/24/2020, 2:49:56 PM


At the Musée d'Orsay, the retrospective which opens on June 22, corrects the image of the worldly painter of the Belle Époque by recalling his enormous work as an illustrator of the Bible.

There are many mysteries left by James Tissot (1836-1902). At the Musée d'Orsay, for its first Parisian retrospective in thirty-five years, spent the glamor of its canvases with dresses with turnings, embroidered parasols and frock coats, past skill in rendering textiles and elegant poses, another charm operates.

Read also: James Tissot, at the time of rehabilitation on Arte

And it is the merit of the commissioners to liven it up. By the exhumation of archives which were lacking in 1985 at the Petit Palais, these specialists - three French and one American from the Fine Arts Museum in San Francisco, co-producer of the event - invalidate the judgment of the Goncourt brothers.

Read also: Museums: everyone dreams of being Belphégor

Superficial tissue? Come on! In such a mundane scene where a father who arrives too early at the ball can find no one to present his daughters to ( Too Early ), there is more than comedy. There is a world that is lost. In La Demoiselle de magasin there is a whole set of blurred relationships between interior and exterior. The composition goes beyond the fashion image, brings the seller of ribbons closer

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