Article content

The National Gallery of Canada on Wednesday put on permanent display its new acquisition of a “masterpiece” by the 19th-century French painter James Tissot.

The Partie Carée, known in English as The Foursome, has only been exhibited publicly twice before, including at its world premiere in Paris in 1870. The gallery bought the painting for an undisclosed amount from the estate of the late, Ottawa-raised Canadian cable TV magnate David R. Graham, who died in the fall of 2017.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or National Gallery of Canada acquires and exhibits 19th century French 'masterpiece' Back to video

Anabelle Kienle Poňka, the gallery’s acting senior curator of European and American art, called Tissot’s painting “a masterpiece … (that) embodies references to history and art history with visual intelligence, wit and humour.”

Depicting two couples enjoying a meal by a river in a park, the painting is “an important example of the era’s penchant for genre scenes that take a historic, revisionist approach to their subject matter, and that offer commentary on modern life,” Poňka said.

The gallery has two other works by Tissot, an artist whom no less than Vincent van Gogh described as “great, immense, infinite.” A major retrospective of Tissot’s work will be held in 2019 and 2020, co-organized by The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the Musées d’Orsay et de l’Orangerie, Paris.

ALSO IN THE NEWS:

NCC head Mark Kristmanson violated conflict of interest law, says ethics commissioner

Skateway prep underway, but stay off the ice

The return of the Philosopher Kings: Funky-pop band plays Mavericks on Thursday