Collection

My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Eli, Eli lama sabactani)

James Tissot

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Object Label

In the ninth hour of the Passion (three o’clock in the afternoon), Jesus “gives utterance to that cry of anguish, the most heartrending which ever resounded upon this earth,” Tissot writes. In his commentary, Tissot indicates that Christ’s words—the title of this work—are derived from the opening verse of the 22nd Psalm, a text that begins with a lamentation on God’s seeming absence or desertion.

Caption

James Tissot (Nantes, France, 1836–1902, Chenecey–Buillon, France). My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Eli, Eli lama sabactani), 1886–1894. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, Image: 11 1/2 x 8 13/16 in. (29.2 x 22.4 cm) Sheet: 11 1/2 x 8 13/16 in. (29.2 x 22.4 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, 00.159.302. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Gallery

Not on view

Title

My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Eli, Eli lama sabactani)

Date

1886–1894

Geography

Place made: France

Medium

Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper

Classification

Watercolor

Dimensions

Image: 11 1/2 x 8 13/16 in. (29.2 x 22.4 cm) Sheet: 11 1/2 x 8 13/16 in. (29.2 x 22.4 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

00.159.302

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Artists and makers

James Tissot

524 works in the collection