James Tissot
Krystyna Matyjaszkiewicz

James Tissot (1836-1902) who was French by birth, began his career by painting historical scenes, but soon turned to painting images of contemporary life and to the lucrative practice of portraiture. He rapidly became more commercial successful than his friends Degas, Manet and Whistler. It is little known that he also was a skilled etcher and worked in cloisonné enamel. When he returned fro the UK to France. There his ambitious series ‘ The woman of Paris’ was a critical failure. After a ‘devine revelation’, however, Tissot devoted his later years almost exclusively to religious painting.