Reconstruction of Jerusalem and the Temple of Herod (Réconstitution de Jérusalem et du temple d'Hérode)

While Jesus traveled extensively across the countryside during his ministry, visiting villages and cities as well as the wilderness, he returned to Jerusalem, and its Temple, for the episodes depicted in Holy Week and the Passion.

This expansive but highly detailed watercolor sets the scene for many of the key episodes of the narrative and provides a historical reconstruction of the ancient city with its towering battlements, a view imagined from the Mount of Olives. The Temple complex appears at left, with smoke steadily billowing from its altar of burnt sacrifice.