The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 14, 2025

Oil painting of a woman and man with light skin tones standing on the threshold of an open French door, lush manicured gardens behind them. The woman, wearing a dress that rounds at the hips and flares at the bottom, clasps her hands in front of her, pointer fingers pressed to her bottom lip. The man wears a tailored suit and stands close behind her, eyes turned down towards the back of her head.

The Lovers

1872

James Tissot

(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 63, no. 1 (2023): 34-35. Reproduced: P. 35; Mentioned: P. 34 archive.org
  • {{cite web|title=The Lovers|url=false|author=James Tissot|year=1872|access-date=14 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

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