Portrait De Miss L . . . Ou Il Faut Qu’une Porte Soit Ouverte (portrait Of Miss L . . . Or A Door Mu...

Artwork details

Artist

James Tissot

Title

Portrait De Miss L . . . Ou Il Faut Qu’une Porte Soit Ouverte (portrait Of Miss L . . . Or A Door Must Be Either Open Or Shut)

Description

Original drypoint printed in black ink on laid paper.

Signed and dated in the plate on the curtain lower left J.J. Tissot / 1876.

A richly printed impression of the definitive state of this extremely rare etching, with touches of rich burr throughout, from the edition of only 50 (25 issued in Ten Etchings, and 25 issued separately). One of ten plates comprising the suite Ten Etchings. Also bearing the artist's red monogram stamp (Lugt 1545) in two places, lower right and lower left, which Tissot affixed only to those impressions from any given edition which he considered to be the finest, he reserved these impressions for his own collection.

Catalog: Wentworth 23; Tissot 17; Béraldi 16.

Platemark: 14 5/8 x 8 inches

In excellent condition, printed on a sheet with wide margins

Literature regarding this artwork: Krystyna Matyjaszkiewicz, James Tissot, Phaidon Press and Barbican Art Gallery, London, 1984, no. 75, p. 112 (ill.).

The subject of this drypoint, Miss Lloyd, was probably a professional model or a friend of Tissot’s who posed for him, for the dress appears often in his work and must have been a studio prop. Tissot is known to have painted portraits like this, probably to send to exhibitions, as a means of attracting commissions. In that, he was successful, for he was an extremely popular portrait painter throughout his life. Until the 1880’s, when his portraits grew more straight-forward, Tissot always sought to stamp them with a modernité summed up in Degas’ desire to “faire des portraits des gens dans des attitudes familières et typiques, surtout donner à leur figure le même choix d'expression qu'on donner à leur corps” (to make portraits of people in familiar and typical attitudes, especially to give to their figure the same choice of expression as one gives to their body).

Date

1876

Medium

Drypoint

Edition

50

Signature

Signed

Catalogue Raisonne

22911

Image

14 5/8 x 8 inches

Sheet

16 x 10 inches

Status

Sold