Related works: Le confessional (In Church), oil on canvas 45 ½ by 27 ¼ ins. 115.4 x 69.2, Exhibited Paris, Salon, 1866, no, 1844; London, The Leicester Galleries, James Tissot, 1933, no. 19; now Southampton City Art Gallery; Watercolour replica of the Southampton painting, Baltimore, Walker Art Gallery.
Christopher Wood suggested one should avoid looking for any hidden meaning in the Confessional subjects, but rather consider them merely as an occasion to present a young woman of good character in an ecclesiastical setting. Tissot had been brought up in a conservative and devout household and in later years was to experience a conversion that led him to paint his series of Biblical illustrations (which were extraordinarily popular and produced substantial revenues). Although the themes of sin and redemption were central to his paintings based on Goethe’s retelling of the legend of Faust and Marguerite, subjects set in church settings were a relative rarity in his work, with none produced during his London sojourn. It is unlikely that in paintings done for his French clients or international dealers, such as The Confessional, he was intending to suggest a particular spiritual message, but the setting was still important in conveying a deeper meaning than the superficial image suggested by Wood.
Krystyna Matyjaszkiewicz takes a different view to Wood, observing that: She is fashionable but suitably dressed for attendance at church, wearing a voluminous green cape but pushing past a blockade of humble wooden and wicker prie-dieus impeding her exit. Barely visible in the left background one sees more traditionally-dressed older women in lace caps and shawls, providing an immediate contrast with the elegance and fresh-faced youthfulness of the principal subject. To prevent any suggestion that Tissot had meant to contrast the austerity of the church setting with any question over the young woman’s reputation, Tissot depicted her with one glove removed to display a wedding-ring. Tucked neatly into her fur muff is the glove and a small pocket-sized missal, perhaps further emphasising the woman's respectable character.
Many of Tissot’s subjects have a certain ambiguity that allows for different interpretations of the artist’s intentions. The larger and better-known oil painting of a woman leaving the confessional (Southampton City Art Gallery), also painted as a watercolour, may suggest she is trying to overhear what the woman, whose dress can be seen on the other side, might be confessing. As in our painting she moves a prie-dieu aside but it is a more ordered setting, whereas in our painting the jumble of prie-dieus seem to be an obstacle in her path. Has our lady in the green jacket just risen from her penitential prayers or is she hastening away from the confessional, concerned at whatever penance has been imposed? The contemporary viewer may have shared the common male curiosity as to the substance of women’s confessions but aside from the priest, hidden from sight in the confessional, there is no male presence here.
As with so many paintings by Tissot, often given different titles over the years, there is some uncertainty around the subject (Goupil had first given the painting the title La penitente). Does her voluminous robe conceal a pregnancy and is this related to her confession? Is she too trying to overhear what is said the other side of the confessional? Or is this no more than a portrayal of a devout young lady on a cold winter day attending to her religious devotions? Goupil sold the painting to Van Gogh with the title recorded by Tissot in his own account book, Le confessional but by allowing us to speculate, the artist ensures that his subjects continue to engage the viewer long after the first impression.
