Collections: European Art: The Merchants Chased from the Temple (Les vendeurs chassés du Temple)

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The Merchants Chased from the Temple (Les vendeurs chassés du Temple)

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

Jesus drives the merchants from the Temple, among them moneychangers as well as those who sell animals for sacrifice and food for worshippers. He scatters their goods—in a dramatic flurry of flapping doves’ wings—as he wields a whip devised from his own belt, Tissot notes in his text. (This last detail comes from the account in John, though Tissot chose not to cite those verses in his Bible.)

The sheer bulk of merchants with their wares and animals had grown so large, Tissot explains, that, for want of room, they had invaded Solomon’s Porch and the Court of the Gentiles, rendering the cisterns impure and the silence required for prayer impossible.


• Artist: James Tissot, French, 1836-1902
• Medium: Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper
• Place Made: France
• Dates: 1886-1894
• Dimensions: Image: 7 5/16 x 11 9/16 in. (18.6 x 29.4 cm) Sheet: 7 5/16 x 11 9/16 in. (18.6 x 29.4 cm)
• Signature: Signed top right: "J.J. Tissot"
• Collections: European Art
• Museum Location: This item is on view in Robert E. Blum Gallery, 1st Floor
• Accession Number: 00.159.198
• Credit Line: Purchased by public subscription
• Image: Overall, 00.159.198_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2007
James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). The Merchants Chased from the Temple (Les vendeurs chassés du Temple), 1886-1894. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, Image: 7 5/16 x 11 9/16 in. (18.6 x 29.4 cm) Sheet: 7 5/16 x 11 9/16 in. (18.6 x 29.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.198 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 00.159.198_PS2.jpg)