The Ball on Shipboard is one of Levitated Apples' favourite paintings - and it deserves to be seen full-size in all its rich colour and visual interest.
James Tissot’s depictions of fashionable Victorian social scenes, were extremely popular and brought him deserved celebrity and financial success.
However, some critics complained of their lack of clear narrative and moral purpose, which were deemed indispensable to the idea of art as social teacher.
Art and social critic John Ruskin who was given to extravagant opinion, described them as ‘unhappy mere colour photographs of vulgar society.’ But let's not forget that Ruskin once attacked even Michelangelo as a corrupting influence.
Tissot certainly delighted in fashion, detailing even the most extravagant of costumes. He was a master of composition and contrast - and to the informed observer, it's clear that his paintings present their own form of subtle commentary, in terms of contemporary social conventions and the interaction of men and women in high society.
The Ball on Shipboard circa 1874: Oil on canvas
Support: 841 x 1295 mm frame: 1012 x 1476 x 115 mm
Presented by the Trustees of the Chantrey Bequest 1937
1 comment:
They have a random-shot digital photographic feel about them!
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