Sometimes described as an Impressionist, James Tissot actually was a realist painter. In fact he declined his friend Edgar Degas' invitation in 1874 to exhibit his work with a loose group of French painters who would become known as Impressionists.
What is James Tissot known for?
James Tissot, in full James-Joseph-Jacques Tissot, (born , Nantes, France—died Aug. 8, 1902, Buillon Abbey, near Besançon), French painter, engraver, and enameler noted for his portraits of late Victorian society.
Who was Tissot?
James Jacques Joseph Tissot ( - August 8, 1902) was a French painter. Tissot was born at Nantes. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris under Ingres, Flandrin and Lamothe, and exhibited in the Paris Salon for the first time at the age of twenty-three.
Where did Tissot first find success as an artist?
Tissot quickly developed his reputation as a painter of elegantly dressed women shown in scenes of fashionable life. By 1872 Tissot had bought a house in St John's Wood, an area of London very popular with artists at the time.