Collections: European Art: Saint Joseph Seeks a Lodging in Bethlehem (Saint Joseph cherche un gîte à Bethléem)

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Saint Joseph Seeks a Lodging in Bethlehem (Saint Joseph cherche un gîte à Bethléem)

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

In the biblical narrative, Mary and Joseph live in Nazareth but must journey to Bethlehem, the ancestral home of Joseph’s family, to be counted in a census imposed by the Romans. On their arrival in the town, Joseph searches for lodgings without success. Tissot contrasts Joseph’s anxious plea—calling up to townspeople in hopes of finding accommodation—with the Virgin Mary’s quiet resignation.

Tissot’s expeditions to the Middle East in the 1880s provided rich source material for his watercolor compositions. The thick masonry walls and labyrinthine alleys of Jaffa, an ancient port city near modern Tel Aviv in Israel, serve here, with minor revisions, as the backdrop of Bethlehem.


• Artist: James Tissot, French, 1836-1902
• Medium: Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper
• Place Made: France
• Dates: 1886-1894
• Dimensions: Image: 10 7/16 x 6 5/8 in. (26.5 x 16.8 cm) Sheet: 10 7/16 x 6 5/8 in. (26.5 x 16.8 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: 00.159.23
• Credit Line: Purchased by public subscription
• Image: Overall, 00.159.23_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2006
James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). Saint Joseph Seeks a Lodging in Bethlehem (Saint Joseph cherche un gîte à Bethléem), 1886-1894. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, Image: 10 7/16 x 6 5/8 in. (26.5 x 16.8 cm) Sheet: 10 7/16 x 6 5/8 in. (26.5 x 16.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.23 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 00.159.23_PS1.jpg)