Collection

Angels Holding a Dial Indicating the Different Hours of the Acts of the Passion (Anges tenant un cadran indiquant les différentes heures des actes de la passion)

James Tissot

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Object Label

To help guide the reader through the narrative of the Passion in his published Bible, Tissot repeatedly depicts two angels holding a dial, or clock, indicating the specific hour at which each event occurs. The tapers in their hands, Tissot tells us, signify purity and light: behind them, the sky is dark, but countless stars recall the promise of eternity.

Caption

James Tissot (Nantes, France, 1836–1902, Chenecey–Buillon, France). Angels Holding a Dial Indicating the Different Hours of the Acts of the Passion (Anges tenant un cadran indiquant les différentes heures des actes de la passion), 1886–1894. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, Image: 7 3/4 x 6 3/4 in. (19.7 x 17.1 cm) Sheet: 7 3/4 x 6 3/4 in. (19.7 x 17.1 cm) Frame: 20 x 15 x 1 1/2 in. (50.8 x 38.1 x 3.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.218. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Gallery

Not on view

Title

Angels Holding a Dial Indicating the Different Hours of the Acts of the Passion (Anges tenant un cadran indiquant les différentes heures des actes de la passion)

Date

1886–1894

Geography

Place made: France

Medium

Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper

Classification

Watercolor

Dimensions

Image: 7 3/4 x 6 3/4 in. (19.7 x 17.1 cm) Sheet: 7 3/4 x 6 3/4 in. (19.7 x 17.1 cm) Frame: 20 x 15 x 1 1/2 in. (50.8 x 38.1 x 3.8 cm)

Signatures

Signed bottom right: "J.J. Tissot"

Credit Line

Purchased by public subscription

Accession Number

00.159.218

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Artists and makers

James Tissot

524 works in the collection