Mid-Morning Open Thread

He might have been a Communard, but he sure could paint.

Seriously. He was probably a supporter of the Paris Commune, and had to flee to London.

Tissot, hard working and shrewd, quickly became successful in London, where his oil paintings of social events and his conversation pieces rapidly became popular. These paintings 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. Ruskin was a particularly severe critic, describing the Tissot paintings as "mere painted photographs of vulgar society."

That's John Ruskin, the most famous art critic of the Victorian Era, so it wasn't just some schmuck with a blog.

posted by CBD at 09:35 AM

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