James-Jacques-Joseph Tissot (1836–1902)

The painting James-Jacques-Joseph Tissot (1836–1902) was executed by Edgar Degas between 1867 and 1868. This intimate portrait, rendered meticulously in oil on canvas, captures Degas’s contemporary and friend, the influential French painter and printmaker James Tissot. This work dates from a crucial period in Degas’s career, shortly before the full emergence of Impressionism, revealing his early adherence to classical draughtsmanship combined with a keen interest in psychological depth typical of his portraiture. The composition shows Tissot seated, presenting a contemplative study of a fellow artist.

Degas utilizes a highly controlled technique and a relatively restrained palette in this work, focusing the viewer’s attention on the figure’s expression and posture. Unlike the highly spontaneous brushwork characteristic of his later scenes, this formal portrait exhibits precise modeling and controlled light, reinforcing the dignified status of the subject. The handling of the subject, one of many significant portraits of men Degas produced, highlights the complex personal and professional relationships among the Parisian artistic elite.

The canvas serves not only as a record of a friendship but also as an important document charting the transition in Degas’s style toward modernity. Today, this significant piece of 19th-century French painting is a highlight of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Its historical importance means that high-quality prints and reproductions of this essential artwork frequently enter the public domain, allowing broader access to this masterful study of two giants of French art.