Tissot's Water

The fourth painting at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts that features a lot of water is "On the Thames, A Heron," by James Tissot.  Tissot  was a french painter who lived from 1836-1902.  During the Franco-Prussian war he became a political refugee, fleeing to England from France.  While the French preferred sentimental narratives, the English market wanted images depicting Victorian charm.  This painting, completed between 1871 and 1872, shortly after his arrival in England, is one of his first English works.  Influences reflecting the demands of both markets are apparent.

On the Thames, A Heron, c. 1871-1872, James Tissot, French, 1836 - 1902; oil on canvas. Click on image to enlarge.  Minneapolis Institute of Arts collection.

In addition to mixing the market demands of both French and English clients, he has also incorporated the "aesthetics of Japanese design in his use of a high vantage point and the juxtaposition of two separate pictorial elements in compressed space."  MIA informational display plate.

Of course in this visit to the Institute,  what caught my eye for further investigation, was the water and reflected light.  Did you see the heron right away?  If the clue "heron" wasn't in the title of the painting, I certainly would not have approached the canvas looking for a bird.

Again, from a distance, the water appears very photographic.  It does not show the impressionistic techniques displayed in the work of the three previous painters who worked only ten to twenty years later.
Notice in the image below, on closer inspection, that the realism of the water breaks down in much the same way the work of Zorn does on close inspection.

On the Thames, A Heron - cropped, by James Tissot, c. 1871-1872.  Oil on canvas.  Click on image to enlarge.  Minneapolis Institute of Arts collection.

I thought it was interesting that the body of the lace shawl, the gloves, and the boards making up the sides of the boat do not deconstruct in the same way as the water in front of the boat.

On the Thames, A Heron - cropped, by James Tissot, c 1871 - 1872.  Oil on canvas.  Click on image to enlarge.  Minneapolis Institute of Arts collection. 

The heron in the foreground provides a stark contrast to the precision and details of the water.  Part of this may be deliberate, to make the bird more important as the second "feature" in the painting.  Another factor may be the overlapping of the bird on the water, created by the point-of-view of the viewer from above rather than to the side, as if on a river bank.  Also note the reflection in the water, which is much more apparent when the painting is cropped and the object of the reflection is not visible.

I spent quite a bit of time studying this painting.  It seems like a composite of many different techniques and composition ideas.  I would like to research this artist further to learn more about him and his other works.