Collections: European Art: The Pardon of the Good Thief (Le pardon du bon Larron)

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The Pardon of the Good Thief (Le pardon du bon Larron)

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

As Christ and the thieves condemned to die along with him hang on their crosses, one mockingly demands that Jesus, as the Christ, relieve them of their sufferings. The other criminal reminds his fellow of the justness of their punishments, in contrast to the innocence of Jesus. “Touched,” Tissot writes, “by the divine gentleness of the crucified Saviour,” the penitent thief then asks Jesus to remember him when he comes into his kingdom; Jesus replies that today the thief will be with him in paradise.


• Artist: James Tissot, French, 1836-1902
• Medium: Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper
• Place Made: France
• Dates: 1886-1894
• Dimensions: Image: 14 1/4 x 8 1/16 in. (36.2 x 20.5 cm) Sheet: 14 1/4 x 8 1/16 in. (36.2 x 20.5 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: 00.159.296
• Credit Line: Purchased by public subscription
• Image: Overall, 00.159.296_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2008
James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). The Pardon of the Good Thief (Le pardon du bon Larron), 1886-1894. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, Image: 14 1/4 x 8 1/16 in. (36.2 x 20.5 cm) Sheet: 14 1/4 x 8 1/16 in. (36.2 x 20.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.296 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 00.159.296_PS2.jpg)