James Tissot

Jacques Joseph Tissot (French: [tiso]; 15 October 1836 – 8 August 1902), anglicized as James Tissot (), was a French painter and illustrator. He was born to a drapery merchant and a milliner and decided to pursue a career in art at a young age, incorporating elements of realism, early Impressionism, and academic art into his work. He is best known for a variety of genre paintings of contemporary European high society produced during the peak of his career, with a focus on women's fashion and the Belle Epoque, but would also explore many Medieval, Biblical, and Japoniste subjects throughout his life.

Tissot served in the Franco-Prussian War on the side of France and later the Paris Commune before moving to London in 1871, where he would find further success as an artist as well as meet Irishwoman Kathleen Newton, who came to live with him as a close companion and muse until her death in 1882. Tissot maintained close relations with the then-nascent Impressionist movement, including friend and mentee Edgar Degas.