James-Jacques-Joseph Tissot

Goupil & Cie, Paris, no. 1631 (acquired May 1865)
Knoedler & Co., New York (acquired from the above, May 1866)
Private Collection, New York
Elliott Bloom, New York (acquired from the above by 1984 and sold, his estate, Sotheby's, New York, May 4, 2012, lot 68, illustrated)
Acquired at the above sale

Paris, Salon des Artistes Français, 1865, no. 2075
London, Barbican Art Gallery; Manchester, Whitworth Art Gallery; Paris, Musée du Petit Palais, James Tissot 1836-1902, November 15, 1984-June 30, 1985, no. 7 (London and Manchester only, lent by Elliott Bloom, New York)
Tokyo, Isetan Museum of Art; Osaka Umeda, Daimaru Museum; Mie Prefectural Art Museum; Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts; Yokohama Takashimaya Gallery, James Tissot, February 28-September 13, 1988, no. 7 (lent by Elliott Bloom, New York)

James Jacques Joseph Tissot, 1836-1902, A Retrospective Exhibition, exh. cat., Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence; The Art Gallery of Toronto, 1969, n.p., under no. 5
Willard E. Misfeldt, James Jacques Joseph Tissot: A Bio-Critical Study, PhD diss., Washington University, 1971, pp. 44, 56-7, illustrated
Willard E. Misfeldt, The Albums of James Tissot, Bowling Green, Ohio, 1982, p. 23, illustrated
Krystyna Matyjaszkiewicz, "Catalogue," James Tissot, 1836-1902, exh. cat., 1984, p. 144, under no. 15, illustrated p. 145
James Wentworth, James Tissot, Oxford, 1984, pp. 42-4, 199, illustrated

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This work is in very good condition. The panel is cradled on the reverse. There is an original join running horizontally beneath the feet of the woman in black. This join is slightly visible at the top of the steps. While this join does not seem to be active or unstable, a small amount of paint loss has occurred here which could be retouched. The work is otherwise in lovely condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

With its figures locked in theatrical poses, their drama unfolding on a stage-like courtyard set above a town, Tentative d'enlèvement may surprise those who think of James-Jacques-Joseph Tissot as a society painter of "modern life". The subject is not a woman dressed in the latest fashions of nineteenth century London or Paris, but one wearing sixteenth century costume. She anxiously watches a duel between her hero (shedding his coat, hat tossed aside) and a black-cloaked opponent, soon to be joined by an ally climbing over the balcony wall, their aim to whisk her away.  The artist pays great attention to detail in recording the rich, warm fabrics of the lady's dress, the French (or Belgian) blue and yellow faience lion, and the spindly trees set behind an elaborate carved trellis; all add to the scene, suggesting a Northern winter locale and moneyed status of the imperiled lady.  While this early composition may seem unrelated to Tissot's mature oeuvre, it portends the artist's later successes with rendering atmospheric moods, multi-layered narratives, and his consistent, technical perfection. 

Scenes of the Middle Ages dominated much of Tissot's work of the early 1860s. Though still set in the past, compositions like Tentative d'enlèvement suggested the artist's shifting interest toward popular tales of historical adventure and romance from the genre troubadour and the history paintings of Jean-Léon Gérôme like his Louis XIV et Molière or Duel après un bal masqué. The present work is one of a loose series, which also includes Promenade sur les ramparts (1864, Stamford University of Art, Palo Alto, California), Le Rendez-Vous (circa 1867, sold in these rooms, April 20, 2005, lot 76), and L'enlèvement (circa 1865-67, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nantes) in which male and female protagonists cross from painting to painting, creating a narrative that provides different perspectives on the compelling action (Wentworth, p. 42).  Without clear source material or moral lesson, Tentative d'enlèvement infuses costume drama with modern, emotional complexity to create a carefully observed scene.