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The Voice in the Desert (La voix dans le désert)
- Portfolio/Series:
The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ (La Vie de Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ) - Artist: James Tissot, French, 1836-1902
- Medium: Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper
- Place Made: France
- Dates: 1886-1894
- Dimensions: Image: 11 7/16 x 6 11/16 in. (29.1 x 17 cm) Sheet: 11 7/16 x 6 11/16 in. (29.1 x 17 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: 00.159.44
- Credit Line: Purchased by public subscription
- Image: Overall, 00.159.44_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2007
Tissot opens the section on Jesus’ ministry by introducing John the Baptist, who prophesied his coming, urged repentance, and practiced the cleansing rite of baptism. Calling out from the vast, rugged deserts of Judaea, the Baptist here throws his arms up in the air.
In his commentary, Tissot notes the resounding echo effect in the rocky valleys the Baptist inhabited, heightening his emphatic call to “make straight the way of the Lord.” The artist’s commentaries, which at times read like a travelogue, also provide his readers with details that summon their other senses as they ponder his images.
Living and preaching in the wilderness, the Baptist bears the marks of privation—most notably, his wild, knotted hair, a traditional attribute. Additionally, he wears a rough camel-hair cloak, testament to his penitence, and carries a staff for support in his wanderings.
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Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum 