Tissot began painting riverside subjects soon after he arrived
in London in 1871. His interest in river and port life stemmed from
his childhood in the port of Nantes. For this picture he used
seafaring friends as the models - John Freebody as the captain and
his wife Margaret and her brother Lumley Kennedy as the young
couple. The setting may be one of the ships of which Captain
Freebody was Master. The picture’s story is ambiguous. None of the
participants meet each other’s eyes, and sharp tonal contrasts and
the complicated rigging combine to create an oppressive and tense
mood.
The Last Evening
James Jacques Joseph Tissot
Oil on canvas
1873