Christian Articles Archive
Brief Biography of Bible Illustrator James J. Tissot
collected
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
James J. Tissot (French painter and illustrator, 1836-1902) was a well-known
French impressionist painter. But after his model and mistress commited suicide at
the age of 28 in 1882, his heart began to turn toward spiritual
things. He visited the Holy Land in 1886-87 and in 1889 for careful geographical
and ethnographic studies. During the latter part of his career he produced a series of 700
watercolor drawings to illustrate the Life of Christ (published 1896) and the
Old Testament. His New Testament paintings are part of the collection of the
Brooklyn Museum, while his Old Testament paintings are for the most part owned
by the Jewish Museum of New York.
In my opinion, Tissot is one of the most accurate painters of any age who has
sought to depict the events and
scenes of the Bible. In the Holy Land he sketched hundreds of scenes
and individuals from life, and then developed well composed Bible paintings
based on both his careful research and accurate drawings.
Though some of these Bible watercolors are available in subscription-based
clipart collections and in online poster stores online, the quality and size of
most of his pictures just aren't very good. Below I have linked to the best
copies of his work on the Passion of Christ that I could find online -- some
obviously much better than others. Where the name of a painting is not hyperlinked, that
means that I could not identify a known painting title with a corresponding online reproduction.
I hope you enjoy Tissot's exquisite work as much as I have. -- Pastor Ralph
Now see
The Passion of Christ Illustrated by James J. Tissot
Christian Art and Paintings:
Abraham Art | Agnus Dei Art | Angel Art | Annunciation Art |
Celtic Stone Cross Art |
Christian Symbols and Art |
Christmas Art | Easter Art |
Passion of Christ
by Tissot |
Hebrew-Jewish Art | Holy Week Art | Jacob | Jesus' Ministry Art | Jesus' Teaching Art |
Jesus Portraits and Art | John the Baptist
| John the Apostle
| Lamb of God Art | Last Supper Art | Madonna & Child Art | Names of God Art | OT Misc Art | Psalms Art | Palm Sunday Art | Paul Art and Paintings | Day of Pentecost Art | Peter Art and Paintings |
Prayer Art | Resurrection Art | Revelation Art |
Thanksgiving and Pilgrims Art |
Timothy Art and Paintings
Copyright of artwork. Much, but not all, of the artwork
linked to on this site is in the public domain worldwide due to the date of death of its author (if it is was published outside of the U.S. and the author
has been dead for over 70 years), or due to its date of
publication (if it was first made public in the U.S. before
1923), at least in the United States (see
Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.), in Germany, and in many other countries.
Copyright © 1985-2010 Ralph F. Wilson. <pastor
joyfulheart.com> All rights reserved. A single copy of this article is free. Do not put this on a website. See legal, copyright, and reprint information.