Jacques Joseph Tissot (1836 – 1902) was a French painter and illustrator, especially of Parisian, society before moving to London in 1871. This first major reassessment of Tissot’s career offers West Coast audiences a glimpse at the fascinating life and dazzling art of a man who captured an era. Research for the show included a visit to Château de Buillon, his former family home where part of his studio remains.

The paintings  you will see are sized 6′ to 15′ – quite large. Like many of his contemporaries he was influenced by Japanese prints but he also experimented with print versions of his painted works and studied the new technology of his time – photography. The unusual angles and framing he favored captured people’s attention.

In 1885 a major exhibition of his work took pace at the Galerie Sedelmeyer where he showed 15 large paintings in a series entitled La Femme à Paris. It was wildly successful; his compositions were unusual and inspired future cinematographers. The French women are shown in professional and social scenes painted in unexpected angles and framing influenced by Japanese prints. You can see these paintings in the exhibit; they are between 6 feet and 15 feet.

After the death of his muse Kathleen Newton in 1882, he became interested in Spiritualism. A newspaper report covering the 1964 sale of Tissot’s possessions described a collection of five thousand books including publications demonstrating that Tissot: ‘

“Had a weakness for ectoplasms, turntables, esotericism and spiritualism …”

There is so much more to Tissot – his last years were spent making paintings about Biblical events. Tissot’s paintings of the Ark of the Covenant were the basis for the actual Ark prop and Ralph McQuarrie’s illustration, made to resemble an etching, seen in Indy’s Bible in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The Legion of Honor is open Tuesday through Sunday. Every Saturday the Legion of Honor offers free general admission to all residents of the nine Bay Area counties. Saturdays feature engaging art experiences for the entire family, including art making, gallery guides and tours with discussion and sketching in the permanent galleries.

General admission is free the first Tuesday of every month and applies only to the permanent galleries. Full-price admission to special exhibitions still applies. Redeem free admission by visiting the Ticketing and Membership Desks.

Discovery & Go offers free general admission for California library cardholders. This offer applies only to the permanent collection galleries. Full-price admission to special exhibitions still applies. Register at https://sfpl.discoverandgo.net/  to receive a dated Discover and Go voucher prior to visiting.