Two Figures at a Door (The Proposal?)
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
unframed: 101 × 61.5 cm · framed: 121.9 × 83.8 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Modern European Painting and Sculpture
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Partial gift from Ralph and Terry Kovel and Family, and partial purchase from the John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
2022.140
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
James Tissot lived in London in 1871–82 where he established a reputation as painter of elegantly dressed women in modern, fashionable settings. This painting, made at the beginning of his London period, was designed to appeal to Victorian audiences who enjoyed art that hinted at narrative. Here, a young couple enters an upholstered interior, leaving a sunlit garden. The woman’s gesture suggests contemplation; might she be considering a proposal made by the man who follows closely behind her? Th...