The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Two Figures at a Door (The Proposal?)

Two Figures at a Door (The Proposal?)

1872
(French, 1836–1902)
France, 19th century
oil on canvas
Unframed: 101 x 61.5 cm (39 3/4 x 24 3/16 in.)
Partial gift from Ralph and Terry Kovel and Family, and partial purchase from the John L. Severance Fund 2022.140
Location: 220 19th Century European

Did You Know?

James Tissot was close friends with Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, and Berthe Morisot, but declined Degas’s invitation to participate in the first Impressionist exhibition of 1874.

Description

James Tissot lived in London in 1871–82 where he established a reputation as painter of elegantly dressed women in modern, fashionable settings. This painting, made at the beginning of his London period, was designed to appeal to Victorian audiences who enjoyed art that hinted at narrative. Here, a young couple enters an upholstered interior, leaving a sunlit garden. The woman’s gesture suggests contemplation; might she be considering a proposal made by the man who follows closely behind her? Their exchange, ultimately, remains mysterious.
  • [Brodney Gallery, Boston, early 1950s]
    Ralph and Terry Kovel, Cleveland, OH
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, acquired 2022
  • Sotheby’s New York, “James Tissot: The Proposal,” The European Art Sale, May 20, 2021, lot 219
    Melissa E. Buron, Krystyna Matyjaszkiewicz, et. al. James Tissot, exh. cat. (San Francisco, CA : de Young, Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; Munich; New York: DelMonico Books·Prestel, 2019), fig 23, p. 19.
    Robinson, William H. "Two Figures at a Door (The Proposal?): A James Tissot painting joins the collection.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 63, no. 1 (2023): 34-35. Reproduced: P. 35; Mentioned: P. 34.
  • {{cite web|title=Two Figures at a Door (The Proposal?)|url=false|author=James Tissot|year=1872|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.140