Rencontre de Faust et de Marguerite

1859

Salon debut: scenes from “Faust”

In 1859 Tissot exhibited at the Paris Salon for the first time, showing five paintings of medieval scenes, many of them from Goethe's “Faust” (he made his debut at 23).

1859

With Henri Leys in Antwerp

In 1859, before his first Salon, Tissot met the Belgian painter Henri Leys in Antwerp; his influence, along with that of the Germans Peter von Cornelius and Moritz Retzsch, shows in Tissot's medieval scenes.

1860

The State buys “The Meeting of Faust and Marguerite”

Before he had won any Salon medal, the French government paid 5,000 francs for his “Meeting of Faust and Marguerite”; in 1861 the painting was shown at the Salon together with a portrait and other works. It was acquired for the Luxembourg Gallery.

1862

First showings in London

In 1862 Émile Péreire lent his painting “Walk in the Snow” to the International Exhibition in London, and in 1863 three of Tissot's works were shown at the gallery of the dealer Ernest Gambart. After 1862 he began to move from medieval subjects to narrative scenes of Victorian life suited to English taste.