En plein soleil (c.1881)

Tissot, James (1836-1902)

En plein soleil (In Full Sunlight)
c.1881
Oil on wood, 24.8 x 35.2 cm
Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York

Cascading sunlight illuminates the colorful open parasol and beribboned hats of the group lounging on the grass. This idyllic scene was inspired by Tissot’s private life in Victorian London, which was rather improper by the standards of polite British society. At the left is Kathleen Newton, who lived out of wedlock with Tissot as his companion and model. Her free-spirited romantic life resulted in two children, Muriel (lying beside her) and Cecil (standing by the wall). The setting is likely Tissot’s garden in Saint John’s Wood, where the French painter lived from 1871 until Kathleen’s death in 1882. (MET)