The Gallery of HMS Calcutta (Portsmouth)

On the deck of HMS Calcutta, anchored in smoky Portsmouth Harbour.
A young woman, her face half-hidden by a fan, exchanges a meaningful glance with a sailor.

A light, sheer white muslin dress, with an eye-catching lemon-yellow ribbon. It's a stylish scene, capturing the sophisticated romantic interplay between Victorian men and women.

However, the 'yellow ribbon dress,' which could be considered the protagonist of this painting, actually conceals the extraordinary obsession of the painter Tissot.

During this period, he repeatedly and persistently depicted women wearing the exact same dress in other works such as 'Summer' and 'Spring'.

It is said that the reason was to flaunt his 'overwhelming skill' to the public, demonstrating his ability to perfectly render the texture of the thin, sheer, complex fabric and the countless pleats.

Tissot, an 'outsider' who had fled the brutal civil war in Paris, often drew the antipathy of critics of the time with his overly realistic and somewhat cynical depictions of British society.
Indeed, the literary giant Henry James dismissed the realism of this painting as 'vulgar and commonplace,' and even harshly criticized it by saying, 'If one were to spend a week in the same room, looking at the back of that yellow ribbon, one would find it unbearably tedious.'

Despite the cold reception from the British art world, he continued to depict 'modern life as it was' from his unique perspective.

The painter's ambition and undeniable skill embedded within these works continue to captivate us with their mysterious charm, even after all this time.