Tissot Paintings
1836 - 1902 Painter, France, Victorian Neoclassicism
Colonel Frederick Gustavus Barnaby, 1870
Oil on canvas
Private collection Portraits
In 1870 the Franco-Prussian war broke out. Following the defeat of France, and the occupation of Paris, Tissot originally lingered in the capital. In 1871, however, Tissot fled to England where he had a considerable number of contacts. Tissot was initially the guest of the Editor of Vanity Fair, with whom he had become friendly, and who seems to have opened doors for him both socially and professionally. Tissot, hard working and shrewd, quickly became successful in London, where his paintings of social events, patrons of the day - ''Colonel Frederick Gustavus Barnaby'' and his conversation pieces rapidly became popular. These pictures look beautifully painted, and an interesting record of social life at the time, but were controversial. This was the time when commercially successful people were overtaking the landed aristocracy in wealth, and, as patrons of the arts. This situation was not to the liking of everybody, and in some quarters Tissot paintings were regarded as depictions of the nouveau-riche.
