Collections: European Art: Angels Holding a Dial Indicating the Different Hours of the Acts of the Passion (Anges tenant un cadran indiquant les différentes heures des actes de la passion)

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Angels Holding a Dial Indicating the Different Hours of the Acts of the Passion (Anges tenant un cadran indiquant les différentes heures des actes de la passion)

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

To help guide the reader through the narrative of the Passion in his published Bible, Tissot repeatedly depicts two angels holding a dial, or clock, indicating the specific hour at which each event occurs. The tapers in their hands, Tissot tells us, signify purity and light: behind them, the sky is dark, but countless stars recall the promise of eternity.


• Artist: James Tissot, French, 1836-1902
• Medium: Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper
• Place Made: France
• Dates: 1886-1894
• Dimensions: Image: 7 3/4 x 6 3/4 in. (19.7 x 17.1 cm) Sheet: 7 3/4 x 6 3/4 in. (19.7 x 17.1 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: 00.159.218
• Credit Line: Purchased by public subscription
• Image: Overall, 00.159.218_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2006
James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). Angels Holding a Dial Indicating the Different Hours of the Acts of the Passion (Anges tenant un cadran indiquant les différentes heures des actes de la passion), 1886-1894. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, Image: 7 3/4 x 6 3/4 in. (19.7 x 17.1 cm) Sheet: 7 3/4 x 6 3/4 in. (19.7 x 17.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.218 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 00.159.218_PS1.jpg)