Collections: European Art: Reconstruction of Jerusalem and the Temple of Herod (Réconstitution de Jérusalem et du temple d'Hérode)

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Reconstruction of Jerusalem and the Temple of Herod (Réconstitution de Jérusalem et du temple d'Hérode)

• Portfolio/Series: The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ (La Vie de Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ)

While Jesus traveled extensively across the countryside during his ministry, visiting villages and cities as well as the wilderness, he returned to Jerusalem, and its Temple, for the episodes depicted in Holy Week and the Passion.

This expansive but highly detailed watercolor sets the scene for many of the key episodes of the narrative and provides a historical reconstruction of the ancient city with its towering battlements, a view imagined from the Mount of Olives. The Temple complex appears at left, with smoke steadily billowing from its altar of burnt sacrifice.


• Artist: James Tissot, French, 1836-1902
• Medium: Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper
• Place Made: Palestine (now Israel)
• Dates: 1886-1894
• Dimensions: Image: 8 1/4 x 17 1/16 in. (21 x 43.3 cm) Sheet: 8 1/4 x 17 1/16 in. (21 x 43.3 cm)
• Signature: Signed lower right: "J.J. Tissot"
• Collections: European Art
• Museum Location: This item is on view in Robert E. Blum Gallery, 1st Floor
• Accession Number: 00.159.6
• Credit Line: Purchased by public subscription
• Image: Overall, 00.159.6_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2006
James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). Reconstruction of Jerusalem and the Temple of Herod (Réconstitution de Jérusalem et du temple d'Hérode), 1886-1894. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, Image: 8 1/4 x 17 1/16 in. (21 x 43.3 cm) Sheet: 8 1/4 x 17 1/16 in. (21 x 43.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.6 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 00.159.6_PS1.jpg)