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oil on canvas 43 3/4 by 27 in. 111.1 by 68.6 cm. In his monograph on Tissot, Michael Wentworth describes how "La Femme a Paris was Tissot's last major attempt at society painting. Its large scale and intriguing subject were intended to bring him to the attention of the public and re-establish his artistic reputation in Paris...Tissot had always used psychological and compositional devices to involve the viewer in his narratives, but in La Femme a Paris they are pushed to new extremes. Action is no longer confined within the frame, it spills out into "real" space and the actors now speak directly to the viewer in a way that demands reaction." (James Tissot, Oxford, 1984, p. 165) This study is for another painting in the series, Le Sphinx, which is known through a photograph taken by Tissot though its location is unknown. Painted circa 1883-85, the study differs slightly from the finished version. It is smaller and the foreground depicts a low, round table without the lamp and various objects portrayed in the completed painting. Both works, however, are equally engaging and of a subtle psychological complexity. In 1885 Tissot became engaged to Mademoiselle Louise Riesener, daughter of the French painter Leon Riesener. According to an inscription on the reverse of this oil sketch, it is presumed that Tissot portrayed Mlle Riesener in Le Sphinx for La Femme a Paris. Michael Wentworth notes that Edmond de Goncourt described Mlle Riesener in his journal as "une fille deja d'un certain age." According to Goncourt, Tissot added "a floor to his house in anticipation of the marriage. But the match, which has been arranged by Mme Daudet, was abruptly terminated: "un jour, sur la vision de la silhouette vieillotte du dos de Tissot decrochant son paletot dans un antichambre, elle lui faisait dire par sa mere que son envie de se marier etait passee." " (James Tissot, Oxford, 1984, p. 160) If, indeed, this is a portrayal of Mlle Riesener, one cannot help but speculate as to what reason Tissot may have had for casting her as an impenetrable, sphinx-like creature. Further, the viewer is curious to know the thoughts of the sitter and the identity of the unseen caller, as suggested by the device of a gentleman's top hat resting on the armchair behind the sitter. The secretive nature of this painting remains in the identity of Le Sphinx, the nature of her thoughts and Tissot's intentions in painting it. Provenance: Leonice Benedite, director of the Musee du Luxembourg, Paris (Gift from the artist circa 1885) The Benedite Family, Paris Ferrers, Inc., London by 1972 (as Portrait of Mlle Riesener) H. Shickman Gallery, New York Acquired by the present owner from the above in 1973 Exhibited: Ottawa, The National Gallery of Canada, The Other Nineteenth Century, 1978, No. 69 Literature: c.f. David S. Brooke, Michael Wentworth and Henri Zerner, James Jacques Tissot 1836-1902: A Retrospective Exhibition, Providence, R. I., 1968, No. 35 Louise d'Argencourt and Douglas Druick, The Other Nineteenth Century: Paintings and Sculpture in the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph M. Tanenbaum, Ottawa, 1978, p. 192, No. 69, illustrated c.f. Michael Wentworth, James Tissot, Oxford, 1984, pp. 160, 163, 166, 167, 169, 205, Pl. 190 Christopher Wood, Tissot, Boston, 1986, pp.129, 130, 136, Pl. 142 "The idea of a set or series of pictures was probably an extension of the Prodigal Son series, but La Femme a Paris was a much more ambitious scheme...They clearly show Tissot responding bravely to the challenge of new directions in French art...The Sphinx seems an unduly portentous title for a picture of a thoughtful lady sitting on a sofa. The only riddle seems to be who is the owner of the gentleman's hat and stick on the chair beside her...Ironically, the Femme a Paris pictures have remained more popular with English and American collectors than with the French themselves.".