The Artists' Wives

On the day before the opening of the annual Salon exhibition in France, artists applied a final coat of varnish to their pictures and adjourned to a café to celebrate. James Tissot’s painting depicts this ritual gathering on the terrace of the restaurant Ledoyen, a Parisian institution still today. The bustling scene includes portraits of several well-known artists like the sculptor Auguste Rodin, whose bearded, bespectacled face appears near the center of the painting. More than a portrait of the artists, however, Tissot’s work focuses on the stylish, urban women in attendance—the artists’ wives.

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