On the Thames

James Tissot, born Jacques-Joseph Tissot on October 15, 1836, in Nantes, France, emerged as a distinguished painter and engraver whose work captured the essence of Victorian high society. The son of a prosperous draper and a milliner, Tissot's early exposure to fabrics and fashion profoundly influenced his artistic focus, leading him to become renowned for his depictions of elegant women and the social elite. After studying at the École des beaux-arts in Paris, he debuted at the Salon in 1859 with traditional works before shifting his attention to the fashionable world of the late Second Empire. Following the upheavals of the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune, Tissot relocated to London in 1871, where he achieved considerable success as a painter of feminine grace and a caricaturist for Vanity Fair. The death of his companion, Kathleen Newton, in 1882 prompted his return to Paris, where he continued to portray women from various social strata in their everyday settings. A profound religious awakening in 1888 redirected Tissot's artistic endeavors towards biblical themes, inspired by his travels to Palestine and Jerusalem. These religious works, widely reproduced in French and English, cemented his legacy as an artist of both worldly and spiritual dimensions until his death on August 8, 1902, in Chenecey-Buillon.