Collections: European Art: The Sermon of the Beatitudes (La sermon des béatitudes)

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The Sermon of the Beatitudes (La sermon des béatitudes)

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

Jesus now has a significant following, demonstrated visually by the crowd stretching along narrow paths from the distant shores of a lake all the way to the peak of the mountain; he preaches with hands upraised to a group of men, women, and children. In the episode illustrated here, often called the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus enunciates many of the key moral and ethical tenets of his ministry. In the beatitudes, he identifies the blessed among the community— including the meek, the righteous, the peacemakers, and the persecuted—and offers consolation to those who suffer, indicating that they will receive their reward in the kingdom of heaven.


• Artist: James Tissot, French, 1836-1902
• Medium: Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper
• Place Made: France
• Dates: 1886-1896
• Dimensions: Image: 9 5/8 x 6 7/16 in. (24.4 x 16.4 cm) Sheet: 9 5/8 x 6 7/16 in. (24.4 x 16.4 cm)
• Signature: Signed bottom right: "J.J. Tissot"
• Collections: European Art
• Museum Location: This item is on view in Robert E. Blum Gallery, 1st Floor
• Accession Number: 00.159.124
• Credit Line: Purchased by public subscription
• Image: Overall, 00.159.124_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2006
James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). The Sermon of the Beatitudes (La sermon des béatitudes), 1886-1896. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, Image: 9 5/8 x 6 7/16 in. (24.4 x 16.4 cm) Sheet: 9 5/8 x 6 7/16 in. (24.4 x 16.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.124 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 00.159.124_PS1.jpg)